CE Machine

[JCFKevin]

I am trying to redesign our product line for sales to Europe and it must be comply with CE. I have a question about using a VFD on an electric motor. Normally, in the US, I would use a Motor Protection Circuit Breaker rated for the motor and the drive. Do I need to place a contactor/disconnect (for E-Stop purposes) between the drive and the motor, or is a VFD a suitable power-disconnecting device? I believe this is covered in IEC 60034, but I don't know where and I don't have a copy of the standards. Thanks!

 

[ScottyUK]

A drive with a 'secure disable' function can be used as an E-stop in Europe. This function will be specifically designed for this purpose and is different from a regular digital input signal. You will almost certainly need fuses upstream of the drive as specified by the drive manufacturer, and a breaker or a load switch with fault-making capability should be provided for isolation.

EN 954 is one applicable standard, although another standard - IEC 62061 - may have relevance. It was mentioned but not covered in a seminar I attended fairly recently on IEC 61508 and IEC 61511 standards for safety instrumentation systems.

Perhaps this link will be of help if you cut through the product-specific details. Rockwell, ABB, and the other big drives manufacturers all have a similar function assigned a slightly different name by the marketing dept.

http://www.controltechniques.com/data/brochure/unisp/SecureDisable.pdf

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