The Lenze Smart motor significantly reduces the type of drive used

The key here, as always, is to find the easiest solution to the problem. In fact, innovation at its best is in the recognition of the potential to simplify everyday life and create real added value that everyone cares about. With its new Smart Motors, Lenze has succeeded in doing just that, combining the simplicity of mains-powered motors with the technical advantages of electronic drive control. Tailored for direct power start and motor starter applications in horizontal material handling systems, the Smart motor benefits from minimal motor usage, flexible usability and extremely easy operation, as well as remote control via a smartphone app without the need for any additional electronics.

The Lenze Smart motor significantly reduces the type of drive used

1. Introduction

Roller conveyors, chain conveyors and belt conveyors are the three most classic types of conveyors in horizontal material handling systems and are the simplest drive solutions. In general, the motor needs to be permanently connected to the power supply in order to achieve output torque and speed with the appropriate gear unit and gear ratio. The control of the equipment is achieved by means of a contactor or starter, and the opening and closing of the contactor and starter are controlled by a control unit. This method has been used well and has a high level of usability. However, over the past few years, developers have increasingly focused on these motors. One of the main reasons is the growing demand for energy efficiency and increasingly stringent international standards. The use of additional copper in IE2 or IE3 windings also makes more and more economical motors larger and more expensive. Combining such a motor with an inverter to achieve its own adjustable speed control ensures that it can reach a higher level of IE. However, for many material handling applications, this is the equivalent of using a sledgehammer to crack open the nuts. This raises an interesting question: how can we apply precision components and multi-management to the task of reducing the number of different drive axes used in the field of intralogistics?

The high starting torque required for a material handling system and the subsequent low permanent torque create the challenge of how the drive should be designed so that it is not oversized. The impact of using a larger drive than is needed is becoming more and more apparent, as is evident once we receive our electricity bill. In this article, Lenze's latest motor successfully solves one of the logistical challenges of machine manufacturers: maximum standardization and maximum energy efficiency for new drives. What is this new economic efficiency?

2. Replace copper with silicon

The essence of the innovation can be seen in the intelligence of Lenze's integration into the three-phase AC motor terminal box. The electronics are highly reliable in handling systems with an overload capacity of four times more than the rated torque. One of the main results of this innovation is that, despite the high acceleration during continuous operation, the conveyor system is no longer oversized. In addition to this, there are a number of very practical advantages to this approach. For example, this performance significantly reduces the size of the conveyor system, which makes more and more compact motors with lower power output available. Another benefit of the lower power output is that it makes it easier for the motor to reach the optimal operating point in continuous operation and reduces losses during rotation (made possible by the additional energy-saving features developed by Lenze). During the design of the motor, Lenze was able to ensure that the size advantage of the small motor was not diminished by an oversized terminal box and that there were no structural obstacles, making it easier to convert existing material handling equipment.

3. One motor, multiple applications

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, manufacturers of material handling systems need to optimize their drives for the task in question, and the need for standardization should not be overlooked. In practice, however, many pre-configured geared motors differ only in their rotational speeds. This differentiation leads to more engineering workload, documentation, and inventory, which is what we often refer to as the value-added chain that needs to be improved. According to Lenze's calculations, the Smart motor can reduce the number of drive types for your application by 60 to 80 percent, as the rotation speed of the Smart motor can be easily set in the field. Only one motor is needed to cover speeds from 500 to 2,600 rpm with constant torque.

Another highlight of this motor is its touch-free, addressable and power-free speed setting process. The parameterization of the motor can be achieved with NFC, which is increasingly becoming a standard feature of smartphones. Connecting to the Lenze App makes it easy to implement the target function without applying any voltage.

Since smartphone apps usually have minimal technical requirements for the app to be maintained, this means that the debugging tools should also be as simple as possible. Once the parts of the machine are ready to be assembled on the bench, the app can be used to set the target speed and ramp. This can also be done directly after the device is installed. The whole process is as simple as being controlled by a remote control unit, and crucially, no additional connection is required.

In addition, the motor supports two digital inputs and one output, which makes it possible to implement two motor speeds (creep speed and running speed) with the corresponding start and stop commands from a single control unit. In addition, soft start and change of rotation direction are two very easy functions to implement. Both the starting and braking ramps can be set separately, so there are no unintentional uncontrolled torque changes that pressure mechanical components or unbalance components on the conveyor.

4. No more contactors are needed

Wear and tear is no longer an issue. The Smart motor from Lenze electronically integrates the functions of the contactor, creating space for the control cabinet and also avoiding wear and tear caused by mechanical switch contact. In addition, the Smart motor has integrated full motor protection, which means that the motor temperature no longer needs to be monitored externally.

5. Summary

In summary, the advantages of Smart motors are as follows: a simple ordering process, only a few simple motors; It avoids the problem of motor confusion that may occur during installation; Easy to commission. Smart motors are a solution for a large number of horizontal material handling tasks without the need for expensive and time-consuming multi-management, thus bringing significant efficiency gains to the entire value-added chain – another technological leap forward that makes everything easier.

The Lenze Smart motor significantly reduces the type of drive used

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