Advantages and Applications of Soft Start

Soft start technology is an emerging technology for controlling and starting motors. Nowadays, it has received extensive attention from modern people and is actively used in enterprise production activities. This technology can smoothly start the motor, reduce the voltage well, and can also compensate and frequency the motor, thereby effectively reducing the adverse impact of the motor starting on the power grid and related equipment, thereby effectively protecting various related equipment. Soft start technology has incomparable advantages compared with traditional start technology. There are four advantages in total:

• Soft start technology has a variety of start methods.

The soft-start technology has a variety of starting methods, so that relevant staff can choose the corresponding starting method based on the actual situation, so as to start the motor flexibly, avoiding the fixation of traditional starting technology. In addition, the soft start technology is relatively flexible and changeable. The relevant staff can freely set the starting parameters of the motor, so that the motor can achieve the best effect, ensure that the motor can be in the best operating state, and better protect related equipment . There are three most commonly used start methods in soft start technology, namely current limit start, soft start and pulse kick start. These three methods can cope with the startup under various conditions, so that the relevant staff can choose the appropriate startup method according to the production needs.

• Soft start technology can better protect motor equipment.

The soft start technology can better protect the electrical equipment, such as fault protection, overload protection and voltage protection. For example, once the motor has a short circuit problem, the motor will be in a fault state of too low or too high voltage. Then if the soft start technology is applied, the motor can be better protected and the motor can be in normal working condition. Will not cause more serious consequences. Moreover, in the process of applying the soft start technology, it can also be automatically detected during the work of the motor equipment, and various working data of the motor can be obtained, so as to provide an accurate reference for the relevant staff to evaluate the running status of the motor. Not only can the cost of traditional inspection be reduced, but also the inspection time can be effectively reduced. At the same time, in case of any failure of the electrical equipment, the use of soft start technology can also automatically analyze the cause of the failure, so that maintenance personnel can "prescribe the right medicine", repair the equipment better and faster, and effectively reduce the maintenance cost of the equipment.

• The smooth operation of the motor can be ensured by using soft start technology.

Through the use of soft start technology, the smooth operation of the motor can be ensured. Even if the motor has any problems, it can be better maintained. Moreover, because the soft starter has no contacts for high current, it can effectively avoid the problem of poor contact and ensure the smooth operation of the motor. At the same time, because the soft starter is usually equipped with a visual menu, which will have a very comprehensive function, it can make the relevant staff work better, and can automatically operate various motor equipment, thereby effectively improving the operability of the motor. If there is any problem with the electrical equipment, the fault point can be found quickly, which greatly increases the maintenance efficiency.

• Using soft start technology can effectively save energy.

The use of soft start technology can effectively save energy. Since the soft starter is not an electrical equipment, it can only realize the control function, and the start-up time of the soft starter is relatively fast, so the start-up time is not very long, usually the motor will automatically shut down after the completion of the start. Although the soft-start technology does not include energy-saving functions, it can effectively reduce the power required to start the motor, and it can also save the unwarranted loss of the power transformer, which can play a good indirect energy-saving effect. Moreover, the soft-start technology is mainly aimed at the start of the motor, thereby effectively reducing the energy consumed by the motor itself in order to control the start, so the soft-start technology can effectively save energy.

• Application

The soft starter is the application of this soft start technology. The soft starter is an AC motor control device with soft start, soft stop, energy saving and multi-function protection functions. It can be used instead of a motor starter to reduce surge current surges caused by heavy loads. For example, ATO.com provides low-voltage (220v, 240v, 380v, 480v, 690v) soft starters for three-phase AC motors and power tools, with power capacities of 10hp, 20hp, 30hp...800hp. The highly reliable soft starter protects your equipment, simplifies work processes and prolongs service life. This kind of technology is mainly manifested as a step-down start-up that can be performed in accordance with a set process. There are mainly the following two modes:

1.  Under the condition of lighter load, the starting current of the motor is controlled by the current limit starting method, and the output voltage is set to ensure that it gradually increases from zero, and the value remains unchanged after the output current reaches the limit value. To continue to increase the voltage to the rated value, and thus realize the continuous improvement of the motor running speed. In this way, flexible adjustment of the starting current can be realized without adversely affecting the grid voltage. However, this method is more difficult to control the pressure drop value and increases the load type of the starting process.
2.  In the above state, the voltage control start method is adopted. When the control start voltage drop is within a fixed range, the start torque of the motor is increased to shorten the start time. Other voltage ramp starting methods are more suitable for starting the motor under a heavier load, but they also show the disadvantages of slower starting speed and poor safety. This kind of starting method not only realizes the stability of the drag motor system, but also reduces the influence on the power grid to ensure the safety of starting, but it also shows the problem of long time-consuming, which needs to be improved in the later stage.