A soft starter is a device that starts motors with reduced power supplied at the beginning-up. Lowering the power decreases potentially damaging electrical and mechanical shocks on the system. Soft starters are a blend of a controller and overload protection. Soft Starters place a device called a reduced voltage starter, or soft starter, between the motor and the incoming utility line to control the amount of current fed to the motor. Soft starters facilitate the AC induction motor to speed up in smaller steps, resulting in less current drawn than with a traditional motor starter. Due to decreased voltage, torque is also reduced resulting in a soft, or easy start.
Soft starters are used on all types of AC and DC motors. They are most used with the AC squirrel cage induction motor because of its simplicity, robustness, and dependability. Because it offers soft starting and stopping, a soft starter is the ideal compromise between a direct-on-line or star-delta starter and a variable speed drive in many full-speed motor applications.
IPD Provides Motor Starters by Australian and Internationally Leading Brands
IPD offers motor soft starters from globally leading brands ABB and AuCom, with the latest and modular developments available in the market. They are available with control configurations in three phase and two phase, single phase soft starters aren’t required for most of the wide range of usual applications. The AuCom soft starters are available in three series namely CSXi, EMX4e and EMX4i. CSXi series soft starters allow you greater control over the starting and stopping of three phase motors. It provides an advanced soft start system complete with motor protection. In addition to soft start and soft stop, the CSXi provides a range of motor protection functions, including motor overload, phase sequence protection and excess start time.
The EMX4e and EMX4i soft starter helps ensure enhanced productivity of your operation. They don’t just start and stop your machinery with precision and efficiency. It also helps you minimize energy costs and improve operational effectiveness through the delivery of meaningful data to both operators and plant automation systems. It also introduces the game changing smart card capability. Fitting a smart card to those soft starters transform it from super smart motor controller to complete system controller. The EMX4i series contains dual motor parameter settings.
The ABB soft starters are available in three models, namely PSE, PSR and PSTX. The PSE soft starters are general soft starters with rated operational currents and voltages of up to 370A and 600V AC respectively. PSR compact range soft starters save panel space for low-amperage applications up to 105A. The PSR soft starter range is a simple yet reliable starting solution that utilizes only the most basic of soft starting features: soft start and stop. It performs well in applications requiring many starts per hour and is perfect for installations where you need to save space. The PSTX advanced range soft starters provide next-level functionality for motor control in normal duty applications with current ratings of up to 1250A. PSTX soft starters offer the most advanced features and protections in a single enclosure. Complete with built-in Modbus-RTU communications and optional plug-in Any bus modules for most all communication protocols.
For one of the widest ranges of soft starters in Australia, browse from our range of soft starters online below. If you would like to find out more information about IPD’s products, get in touch with us on 1300 556 601 today.