Manufacturing & Processing

Motortronics’ entire range of soft starters offer panel builders and system integrators many advantages.

Its compact designs offer some of the smallest physical footprint per kW/HP ratings across the industry, with standard main terminal spacing and easy mounting.

No need for additional control equipment

This facilitates an ergonomic panel design and layout to reduce cable or busbar runs. VMX-agility™, VMX-synergy™ and VMX-PFE™ are supplied with an integrated by-pass negating the need for additional control equipment to further reduce build and maintenance costs.

Traditionally the Panel Building/System Integration market is highly competitive market and the overall costs of panel design and ease of installation and speed of set up of internal components are the driving factors of the business.

Manufacturing costs are continually monitored and challenged and every opportunity of reducing costs while maintaining the high quality of design are taken.

World’s smallest power to size ratio

A major cost for switchgear manufacturers is the cost of sheet metal which is priced by m² and therefore any reduction in product footprint size is of potential interest. Advancements in Motortronics’ products thermal capabilities in VMX-agility™ and VMX-synergy™ soft starters have one of the world’s smallest power to size ratio in the market and the depth measurement is considerably smaller than competitive ranges.

The width dimension of VMX-agility™ and VMX-synergy™ is specifically designed to match circuit breakers and contactors standard sizes at the corresponding unit kilowatt size, delivering significant savings in build time due to ease of build and installation.

VMX-agility™ and VMX-synergy™ has advanced communication ability for a relatively low product cost and offers a high specification which can link with PLC HMI, potentially eliminating many hours of build time.

Vertical and horizontal mounting

Both VMX-agility™ and VMX-synergy™ can be mounted both vertically and horizontally within the panel design. Most competitive soft starters do not allow horizontal installations.

This delivers significant advantages in terms of space savings for panels and MCC’s that require low height and power cable connections from the side and/or racking panels. VMX-synergy™ has the ability to operate at 50°C with no de-rating allowing for smaller cabinet sizes and potentially less expenditure and consideration around thermal cooling management.

The chemical and pharmaceutical industries are typically one of the largest users of energy resources in the form of oil, gas and electricity.

Their energy intense nature faces ongoing and persistent challenges to reduce energy consumption and to improve overall operational efficiencies.

Applications that will benefit from Motortronics’ soft starter technology include:

• mixers
• pumps
• fans
• centrifuges
• dryers
• compressors
• chillers
• ball mills
• extruders and conveyors.

Reducing energy and operational costs

Of paramount importance is the reduction of mechanical strain on gears, pulleys, reduction of break-downs, reduce spikes in electrical demand during motor starts and provide energy saving in certain applications.

Motortronics’ VMX-agility™ and/or VMX-synergy™ offer solutions for these challenges, including the option of VMX-synergy™ to save energy using the renowned iERS system. This can potentially deliver significant OPEX savings and contribute to any facilities compliance with corporate CSR policies.

The automotive industry is a key driver in the advancement of technology within the automation and control market sector.

Motortronics’ range of LV soft starters offer significant operational and cost advantages to operators in the industry.

VMX-agility™ and VMX-synergy™ connectivity offer real time monitoring capability and event log functionality, supported by comprehensive communication protocols. These make Motortronics’ soft starters the primary choice to meet the industry’s exacting needs.

Offering more digital/analogue inputs and outputs and thermistor input than any other soft starter on the market. Both VMX-synergy™ and VMX-agility™ have Modbus RTU as standard, with VMX-synergy™ having further options for other protocols utilised in industry such as CAN, Profibus, Ethernet and DeviceNET.

Fast and accurate analysis

Both VMX-agility™ and VMX-synergy™ have event logging functionality which is a unique feature that records events to enable fast accurate fault analysis and their resolution. Recording multiple activities, including start, stop, top of ramp, faults, application parameters (time, overload level, currents, frequency) and the device information.

Avoid lost production time

The data is collated in Motortronics’ StarterView programme, allowing the operator to undertake a detailed analysis of performance and equipment conditioning in an active, predictive and preventative maintenance strategy. This avoids unwanted breakdowns and any costly lost production time.

These capabilities are combined with the Motortronics™ industry leading product features and functionality built in VMX-synergy™ and VMX-agility™ for full and optimum motor control in the most challenging automotive applications where we are the markets soft starter supplier of choice.

VMX-agility™ and VMX-synergy™ Monitor Menu

The VMX-synergy™ monitor menu shows the following real-time values:

• Line frequency Hz
• Phase rotation L1-L2-L3
• Currents I1, I2, I3
• Current Irms
• IERS
• Vrms estimate
• Real power factor
• True power P
• Apparent power S
• Reactive power Q
• iERS saving level %
• Delay angle
• BackStop
• Delay max
• Power factor deg
• Ref power factor
• Start saving level
• Last peak current
• Heatsink temp
• Motor thermistor
• Overload %