Mentor MP: Award-Winning Design

At Control Techniques, we’re committed to providing world class innovation in all that we do and make. This commitment was recognized recently when the Mentor MP DC drive won a “2010 Golden Mouse Trap” award from Design News magazine for “Best Product of the Year” in the Motion Control/Automation category. Design News is a leading industry publication targeted to design engineers.

According to Design News Manager Editor Jennifer Roy, “Design News congratulates the winners and finalists of the 2010 Golden Mousetrap Awards for the great work they’ve done to develop new and innovative products for design engineers. These products, as always, showcase the highly imaginative ways that today’s engineers are ‘building a better mousetrap,’ and we thank them for their contributions.”

All award winners are announced in the April 12 issue of Design News and appear on the Design News web site.

CT Commander SK Drives

Commander SK is easy-to-drive and great value. The drive modules are ultra compact and offer excellent motor control. With onboard intelligence, I/O, Ethernet and fieldbus communications options, Commander SK allows you to do much more than you would expect from a general purpose drive.

Applications

Commander SK is ideal for a wide range of applications, including:

• Pumps
• Fans
• Conveying
• Mixing
• Chemical dosing
• Centrifuges
• Door and barrier opening systems
• Food and beverage applications

In these applications energy efficiency and productivity improvements often result in a rapid return on project investments.

Benefits

• Ultra-compact modules resulting from advanced thermal design, state-of-the-art power technologies and the use of a rigid SMC plastic chassis
• Optimised for both heavy duty and fan and pump applications
• Can be easily integrated within an automation system using Control Techniques click-in fieldbus option modules including Profibus, DeviceNet and CanOpen
• Ethernet connectivity allows global drive access for monitoring, configuring and troubleshooting
• Optional SmartStick allows the drive configuration to be stored and replicated - ideal as a parameter back up and for mass/batch production applications
• Optional LogicStick adds program memory for onboard PLC functionality, adding intelligence to the drive. This can remove the need for external PLCs and reduces size and costs
• Easy to use remote mounting keypad with IP65 protection
• Operation with global power supplies – 100V, 200V, 400V, 575V and 690V
• The built in EMC filter is suitable for most applications and can be easily switched in or out of circuit. When more arduous EMC standards must be met, such as for residential environments a range of compact footprint mounting filters are available
• The drive has an RS485 serial port as standard and is supplied with software and documentation CD for easy configuration and monitoring
• Low power drives may be mounted on DIN-rail for quick and easy installation
• The drive has an integrated keypad with all the parameters you need for typical applications detailed on the drive
• Worldwide product expertise and support
• Worldwide certifications including CE and UL

CT Drive Systems

Drive Systems

Through our international Drive Centres we have over 30 years’ experience in providing complete solutions for thousands of applications from a control system for an automatic welder through to the complete line control in a paper, timber or steel mill.

Our Drive Centres offer a wide range of services:

• Industry leading applications engineering experience
• In-house project design and management
• Comprehensive software development and engineering support
• Panel-building, installation and project commissioning
• First class service and support
• Worldwide network of Drive Centres for ongoing support of overseas contracts

Consultation and site meeting

One of our engineers will call you to discuss your particular automation needs. We think that you will be impressed by their grasp of what is needed and by the fast turn-around of proposals and quotation.

You will have a single contact throughout the process from initiation through to installation, commissioning and after-sales service; a process that is simple and accountable, with clear lines of communication.

From Concept to ePlan

Control Techniques operates throughout the world, with 54 Drive Centres covering 31 countries. Each has its own team of application specialists and, naturally, we share ideas, practical results, software and designs - that’s a huge reservoir of experience that we can bring to bear on your particular production or automation requirement. Control Techniques’ applications experience is as good as its gets.

Design

Our Drive Centre teams have unrivalled resources; highly qualified and experienced designers, application engineers and software specialists backed by sophisticated design tools, and, because you’re dealing with the same company that designs the AC and DC drives and servos, you can be certain that you’ll get optimum performance with each element of the system being perfectly matched.

Software services

Whether you want to use the onboard automation features within our drives or external devices, such as PLCs, we can provide you with the level of services you want from providing bespoke software for your application to providing training so that you can write the software yourself.

Communications

Ethernet, Profibus-DP, DeviceNet, Interbus-S, CAN, CanOpen or our own high speed protocol, CTNet – just tell us what you need!

Manufacturing

The Drive Centre controls the quality right through to finished panels, with full testing of both hardware and software prior to shipment.

When you’re checking on progress, your contact can see and talk face-to-face with the fitters, the test engineers and the software specialists. You get the real story and everyone is pulling in the same direction.

Installation, commissioning and after sales support

Control Techniques engineers will install and commission your system. This isn’t the end of the story but the beginning of our relationship; when you need support, we’ll be there. Control Techniques’ after-sales service is second to none.

CT Servo Drives

Servo Drives

Digitax ST Intelligent Servo Drive

0.72Nm to 19.3Nm (57.7Nm Peak)

Meeting the demands of modern lean manufacturing environments requires smaller more flexible machinery. Digitax ST is the first ever drive designed to help machine designers and system integrators meet these challenges; optimised for servo applications requiring high peak torque, dynamic response, ease of use and flexible integration features. Four product variants ensure that the drive’s personality perfectly matches your servo applications.

Epsilon EP

“Motion Made Easy”TM

230V Servo Drive Systems

Epsilon EP, the compact and easy to use servo drive is scalable from a simple amplifier to a completely programmable 1.5 Axis motion controller. The Epsilon EP comes in three flexible models, and five drive ratings — 2.2A, 4.0A, 6.5A, 9.0A and 16.0A, able to deliver over 40Nm of torque at the rated motor speed. Listening to their motion control customers, the engineers at Control Techniques have incorporated several advanced features and capabilities in the Epsilon EP family to make these drives more powerful and easier to use.

Servo Motors

New Unimotor hd

Unimotor hd is Control Techniques’ new high dynamic servo motor range, designed for maximum torque density. This brushless AC servo motor range provides an exceptionally compact, low inertia solution for applications where very high torque is required during rapid acceleration and deceleration profiles.

Unimotor fm

Unimotor fm is a high performance brushless AC servo motor range matched for use with Control Techniques drives. fm is an acronym for Flexible Motor, designed to accommodate a wide range of applications. The motors are available in seven frame sizes with various mounting arrangements and motor lengths.

New Unimotor fm Fan Blown

Unimotor fm Fan Blown is a high performance AC brushless servo motor range. Based on Unimotor fm mechanics with modified electromagnetic construction, the fan blown version has been designed to give greater performance across the torque range.

Unidrive SP Series

One range, any power

Unidrive SP is a complete drive automation range that covers the power spectrum from 0.37kW to 1.9MW. All drives share the same flexible control interface regardless of the power rating. Drives are packaged in three formats; Panel Mount, Free Standing and Modular.

Unidrive SP Panel Mount – Standard drive modules

0.37kW to 132kW

Unidrive SP Panel Mount drives are standard AC input, AC output modules for installation within a control panel. The modules are easy to install and commission and can be applied in a wide range of applications.

Unidrive SP Free Standing – Ready to run

90kW to 675kW

Unidrive SP Free Standing offers a fully engineered drive that is supplied within a standard sized cabinet. Free Standing can be ordered to include all of the power input equipment needed to allow immediate connection to the motor and to the power supply.

Unidrive SP Modular – Power system flexibility

45kW to 1.9MW

Unidrive SP Modular offers maximum power system flexibility; drive modules can be connected together in a variety of ways to create common DC bus systems, active input systems for returning excess energy to the power supply and parallel drives for high power motors. All drive modules are compact for easy handling.

Emerson Press Release

Control Techniques Inverters Chosen for Aquamarine Power’s Flagship Technology – The Oyster Marine Energy Generator

The world’s largest and most successful working hydro-electric wave energy device, known as ‘Oyster’, has, at its heart, a 315kW high-efficiency grid connected inverter system from Control Techniques.

Aquamarine Power’s Oyster marine energy generator, sits just off shore, in Orkney, and comprises a large buoyant steel flap hinged to a base that sits on the sea bed.  As waves roll over the device, the flap oscillates backwards and forwards, driving two hydraulic pistons attached to each side.  High pressure water from these two pumping cylinders – clean, salt-free water in an enclosed system – is pumped ashore, driving a Pelton wheel with spoon-shaped buckets that harness the energy of the high pressure water.  This is attached to a flywheel (to smooth out variations), powering a standard induction generator. Control Techniques inverters take the generated power and provide an interface with the grid.

Testing of the demonstration scale wave energy device commenced at NaREC in March last year and it is now installed and working offshore at Billia Croo near Stromness, in Orkney .  The Oyster was officially turned on in November 2009 to generate power for the national grid and local homes in Orkney and beyond.

The more powerful the wave action, potentially the more electricity that can be generated from such devices, with the maximum output being in the winter months, coinciding with maximum demand – it has been estimated that big waves incorporate potential energy amounting to 200kW per metre!!  Long term, marine energy has the potential to meet up to 20% of the UK’s energy demands.

Control Techniques was involved in the development at an early stage, because of its close working relationship with the New and Renewable Energy Centre (NaREC) at Blyth, where the Oyster concept was under test in their dry dock facility.

Now, Oyster is installed at the European Marine Energy Centre’s test site in Orkney, where two Control Techniques inverters provide a clean supply to the grid, with low harmonic distortion.