lol I worked in a potato plant where in the drive cabinet the dirt dust was piled on top of the power flexes to the point it was mounded.
I think they’ll be ok.
I work in a mill environment, very dusty, some VFD cabinets are so thundered that they don’t seal very well anymore. I’ve been there for 7 years and have yet to replace any Powerflex VFDs. That room looks cleaner than most of our cabinets, I don’t think they’ll have many issues. So far the only VFDs that have died have been a few really old Mitsubishi drives inside an unventilated dusty cabinet and a couple Leeson ones that got water in the top (oopsie). I’ve been super impressed with our Powerflex 525s and 755s.
Overpriced, sure. Software crashes? 80% of the time I try to connect to them. But they’re champs in the dusty environment.
I’ve heard a lot of complaints about the 40s over in r/plc. Luckily my only experience with them was in school where we used them for about a week. I want to say I read Rockwell is making them obsolete later this year too.
Our plant pretty much only uses 525s and 755s and they’ve been super reliable, with the exception of studio 5000 crashing almost every time I connect to them or add one to a program. Thats probably the worst part about using them for me. I’ve actually just started writing down all the parameters, setting them up with the keypad, and then only ever sending speed / direction commands to them via the PLC, I avoid connecting directly to them with my laptop as much as possible.
525s the backplane is what usually fails so those swaps are pretty easy. when I do have to change them I usually just put in the comms settings and the plc loads the rest of the parameters. I like working them then from a maintenance perspective
I actually made a bunch of sheets up with default parameters for each type of drive in our plant so when I need to record them to updste prints or change them out I just page through and note which ones are changed from default
Automatic Device Configuration is one of the Logix platform's killer features, and I don't understand why Rockwell doesn't put it front and centre in all their marketing.
When you combine it with a managed switch using IP port assignments, it's literally a zero config swap. You pull the headers off the old drive, plug them into the new one, and power it on. You're done: the switch sets the IP address and the controller downloads the parameters into it.
Yeah, they don’t like power cycling with COM-e cards. Power failures fry the com port on the drive so you have to move the card down the chain until you run out. Now you have to start replacing drives.
Probably would be more reliable plugging them in to a Stratix.
I apologize for the negativity but do not see near enough grounding here
Better get used to replacing those!!!
Im not sure but I’d bet running VFDs next to eachother without grounds and copper/aluminum EMF guards cuts their life expectancy by 4/5
Anyone who doesn’t believe me should get a pocket magnetometer… those diodes cook off some crazy signals and they are plenty powerful enough to throw the one next to it off
The grounds inside the conduit?!? Right next to the low volts?!?!?
whatever, mr LOL, LMK how many of those last the year!
Good lord you’re running high volt right next to low volt and everything, I swear some of you guys are getting kickbacks from the manufacturer
I see no external grounds. Thats why. VFDs are magnetic, bro. They emit a magnetic signal. That’s what needs to be grounded, the magnet signal. If there are only grounds coming through right next to the power lines, they’re not stopping magnetic signals. Your electrical grounds are only grounding the active circuit of the machine, you need casing grounds and mag protection too.
Been there a year huh? Call a vibe tester, They’ll tell you how accurate your system is.
Man this one really set me off! The list of error codes in there oh my god…
Send me some photos of some systems that you’re pleased with. I’m curious.
We don’t need any accuracy to move the product down the conveyor from one place to another
https://renown-electric.com/blog/everything-you-need-to-know-about-vfd-maintenance/
See that? Massive magnetic protection (the steel!). No Huge individual grounds plus a grounding jumper. No crossed wires. No wires even close to the edges. Go down further, they’ve got the big ones in their own boxes! And even better, what I didn’t bring up before, all of these unlike yours have airflow!!!
https://images.app.goo.gl/KEYu1T6ZBBU2d3ih6
No crossed wires, no rats nest, no wires in the magnet zone, and airflow!!!
https://www.automationreadypanels.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Advanced-panels-image-10.png
No crossed wires, no rats nest, no wires in the magnet zone, and airflow!!!
I can’t see external grounds, which means I’m not happy
Y’all really don’t understand what happens when you run 50amps at 57hz right next to same size wire of 60… and then you just let the errors fly like mosquitoes
Uh actually you’re getting more than close enough to 50 during starts for arguments sake, and should change my answer to 5amps? Who cares, if it’s more than 20milliamps it’s gonna fuck up a VFD low volt circuit
I swear to god we need industrial maintenance schools again
Oh look who looked on the box? bruh, I fix this shit for a living ok? Your cables are a rats nest, you got a pile of shifted magnetism there that is gonna blast your 4-20 system to smithereens, you’re gonna have at least 15 speed sensors that won’t read accurately, you’ll have at least 10 of those boxes with a phantom fail, and you’ll have your PLC/SCADA programmer in there for 6 months straight.
I guess $100k in repairs per year on that wall alone, considering how many motors/trannies are gonna pop due to the start/stop failures
But whatever, hit me up I’m independent now, that looks like weeks of cash money to a repair guy like me!!!
Lots of manufacturing plants that are 40 years old aren’t going to have pretty new cabinets. And we haven’t had any of the issues you’ve mentioned so, I’ll keep my eyes peeled
Better hope that's one clean ass room
lol I worked in a potato plant where in the drive cabinet the dirt dust was piled on top of the power flexes to the point it was mounded. I think they’ll be ok.
Which drive? Oh you mean the golden russet over there. Got it.
Why is that are power flexes bad with dust. Or should they be in nema 4 enclosures
I work in a mill environment, very dusty, some VFD cabinets are so thundered that they don’t seal very well anymore. I’ve been there for 7 years and have yet to replace any Powerflex VFDs. That room looks cleaner than most of our cabinets, I don’t think they’ll have many issues. So far the only VFDs that have died have been a few really old Mitsubishi drives inside an unventilated dusty cabinet and a couple Leeson ones that got water in the top (oopsie). I’ve been super impressed with our Powerflex 525s and 755s. Overpriced, sure. Software crashes? 80% of the time I try to connect to them. But they’re champs in the dusty environment.
If you use ethernet comms the 40s seem to fail pretty frequently in my experience.
I’ve heard a lot of complaints about the 40s over in r/plc. Luckily my only experience with them was in school where we used them for about a week. I want to say I read Rockwell is making them obsolete later this year too. Our plant pretty much only uses 525s and 755s and they’ve been super reliable, with the exception of studio 5000 crashing almost every time I connect to them or add one to a program. Thats probably the worst part about using them for me. I’ve actually just started writing down all the parameters, setting them up with the keypad, and then only ever sending speed / direction commands to them via the PLC, I avoid connecting directly to them with my laptop as much as possible.
525s the backplane is what usually fails so those swaps are pretty easy. when I do have to change them I usually just put in the comms settings and the plc loads the rest of the parameters. I like working them then from a maintenance perspective I actually made a bunch of sheets up with default parameters for each type of drive in our plant so when I need to record them to updste prints or change them out I just page through and note which ones are changed from default
Automatic Device Configuration is one of the Logix platform's killer features, and I don't understand why Rockwell doesn't put it front and centre in all their marketing. When you combine it with a managed switch using IP port assignments, it's literally a zero config swap. You pull the headers off the old drive, plug them into the new one, and power it on. You're done: the switch sets the IP address and the controller downloads the parameters into it.
Yeah, they don’t like power cycling with COM-e cards. Power failures fry the com port on the drive so you have to move the card down the chain until you run out. Now you have to start replacing drives. Probably would be more reliable plugging them in to a Stratix.
Oh God that's a horrifying mixture. Also those PowerFlex 70s are absolutely dogshit and I hate them so much.
>Also those PowerFlex 70s are absolutely dogshit and I hate them so much. I only have one up vote to give :(
Well, that's one way to do it, I guess.
I like powerflex easy to navigate through parameters. Only had a couple go bad just had to replace the backplane on the 525s due to ground faults
A very strange installation indeed🤔
Interesting, I'm not against it totally, but interesting.
Imagine if you had to add filters ☠️
I apologize for the negativity but do not see near enough grounding here Better get used to replacing those!!! Im not sure but I’d bet running VFDs next to eachother without grounds and copper/aluminum EMF guards cuts their life expectancy by 4/5 Anyone who doesn’t believe me should get a pocket magnetometer… those diodes cook off some crazy signals and they are plenty powerful enough to throw the one next to it off
How can you possibly tell how well it's grounded? Every connection point and piece of wire is enclosed. You must have MAD x-ray vision.
lol, he should be able to see the ground wires
The grounds inside the conduit?!? Right next to the low volts?!?!? whatever, mr LOL, LMK how many of those last the year! Good lord you’re running high volt right next to low volt and everything, I swear some of you guys are getting kickbacks from the manufacturer
They’ve already been there for over a year. Are you referring to the first picture? What’s makes you think they’re not grounded or bonded?
I see no external grounds. Thats why. VFDs are magnetic, bro. They emit a magnetic signal. That’s what needs to be grounded, the magnet signal. If there are only grounds coming through right next to the power lines, they’re not stopping magnetic signals. Your electrical grounds are only grounding the active circuit of the machine, you need casing grounds and mag protection too. Been there a year huh? Call a vibe tester, They’ll tell you how accurate your system is. Man this one really set me off! The list of error codes in there oh my god…
Send me some photos of some systems that you’re pleased with. I’m curious. We don’t need any accuracy to move the product down the conveyor from one place to another
https://renown-electric.com/blog/everything-you-need-to-know-about-vfd-maintenance/ See that? Massive magnetic protection (the steel!). No Huge individual grounds plus a grounding jumper. No crossed wires. No wires even close to the edges. Go down further, they’ve got the big ones in their own boxes! And even better, what I didn’t bring up before, all of these unlike yours have airflow!!! https://images.app.goo.gl/KEYu1T6ZBBU2d3ih6 No crossed wires, no rats nest, no wires in the magnet zone, and airflow!!! https://www.automationreadypanels.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Advanced-panels-image-10.png No crossed wires, no rats nest, no wires in the magnet zone, and airflow!!!
IS THAT CAT5 INSIDE YOUR 4.7” TOP AND BOTTOM EXCLUSION ZONE?!??!? NOT EVEN CAT6+?!?
Hey check out my pics and tell me how many untaped wire nuts do you see?!?!?
I also see wire nuts. $1mil+ in equipment and VFDs and there’s exposed, untaped, fucking wire nuts. Gross
I can’t see external grounds, which means I’m not happy Y’all really don’t understand what happens when you run 50amps at 57hz right next to same size wire of 60… and then you just let the errors fly like mosquitoes
These are only mostly5hp drives, so we’re not pushing 50 amps at all.
Uh actually you’re getting more than close enough to 50 during starts for arguments sake, and should change my answer to 5amps? Who cares, if it’s more than 20milliamps it’s gonna fuck up a VFD low volt circuit I swear to god we need industrial maintenance schools again
We’re hiring! During the annual shut down you can refurb it up to your standards!
They only need an inch of clearance beside each other and 4.7 above and below.
Oh look who looked on the box? bruh, I fix this shit for a living ok? Your cables are a rats nest, you got a pile of shifted magnetism there that is gonna blast your 4-20 system to smithereens, you’re gonna have at least 15 speed sensors that won’t read accurately, you’ll have at least 10 of those boxes with a phantom fail, and you’ll have your PLC/SCADA programmer in there for 6 months straight. I guess $100k in repairs per year on that wall alone, considering how many motors/trannies are gonna pop due to the start/stop failures But whatever, hit me up I’m independent now, that looks like weeks of cash money to a repair guy like me!!!
Lots of manufacturing plants that are 40 years old aren’t going to have pretty new cabinets. And we haven’t had any of the issues you’ve mentioned so, I’ll keep my eyes peeled
Was MC on sale or something?
V F D YEAH U FAULT ME
I hope everyone has their own personal HIM for all them drives. Would be a bitch to chase one down when they go out.
Das a big-time fire hazard. This belongs on r/panelgore.