User's Manual

Setup
30 3A2175A
Power Line Voltage Surges
Power conversion equipment can be sensitive to voltage
fluctuations on incoming power. The Motor Control Mod-
ule falls under the category of power conversion equip-
ment because energy is stored on a capacitive bus and
then modulated to control a brushless motor. Engi-
neered design takes this into account and withstands a
wide range of conditions, but it is possible for supplied
power to occasionally fall outside the tolerable range in
industrial plants with high-amperage reactive pulsed
loads such as welding equipment. If the tolerable range
is exceeded, an overvoltage condition is flagged and the
system will shut down in an alarm state to protect itself
and alert the user of unstable power. Excessive or
repeated overvoltage may permanently damage hard-
ware.
The MAX-HOLD feature on a multimeter can be used to
determine peak DC voltage on the line. DC is the proper
setting, as opposed to AC, because peak voltage is the
critical parameter that affects the DC voltage level
stored on the capacitive bus in power conversion equip-
ment. Reading should not regularly exceed approxi-
mately 400VDC to avoid tripping the 420VDC alarm
level in the Motor Control Module. If power quality is sus-
pect, power conditioning or isolation of the device(s)
causing poor power quality is recommended. Consult a
qualified electrician if there are any concerns about the
available power supply.
Power Line Test Steps with Multimeter
a. Set multimeter to “DC voltage”.
b. Connect multimeter probes to supplied power
line.
c. Press “Min Max” successively to show the peak
positive and negative DC voltages.
d. Confirm readings do not exceed 400VDC
(Motor Control Module alarm issued at
420VDC).
The chart below shows the permissible magnitude and
duration of temporary over-voltage events:
Maximum Permissible Transient Voltage Surges
* Constructed from ITIC 1996 curve, referenced by IEC 61000-2-4
1200Vac, 1697Vdc
264Vac, 373Vdc
336Vac, 475Vdc
288Vac, 407Vdc
480Vac, 679Vdc
<--1 MW Max Surge Power
<--150 KW Max Surge Power
<--50 KW Max Surge Power
<--No Power Limit
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
Time (seconds)
Voltage (Volts RMS)
0.000001 0.00001 0.0001 0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10