Real-time control of frequency converters

One platform, thousand solutions

Frequency converters are a critical component in a broad range of products made by Danfoss Drives. Frequency converters are also known by a variety of other names: variable speed drives, adjustable frequency drives, and AC drives.

Frequency converters are used in order to reduce the electrical consumption of motors by changing torque load. They are also able to feedback to the power supply, re-channeling braking energy, for example, that would otherwise be lost as heat. Drives are top performers in heavy-duty industrial applications in industries such as marine and offshore, HVAC, mining and minerals, chemical, water and wastewater, refrigeration, food and beverage, cranes and hoists, and lifts and escalators.

From the air conditioning in the tunnels of Monte Carlo to the beer handed to you on your travels through Germany, frequency converters ensure the stability and consistency of the experiences.

The challenge: to serve a maximum number of applications

Danfoss needed to develop a new generation of variable speed drive solutions for motion control and frequency converters. They were developing the hardware by themselves but trusted the software development to Proekspert. 

Proekspert’s challenge was to make both the hardware and the software serve as many applications as possible. Danfoss drives were already motor-independent, but the old generation of drives was tightly connected between hardware and application. With the new generation of frequency converters, the challenge was to create a common base platform that could serve the maximum number of applications, reuse most of the code, and be built on the same control card (hardware).

The process

In 2001, Proekspert joined the development team and began providing support for the design and development of software components. We developed embedded software that could perform a real-time control operation of the frequency conversion, and could also be easily configurable by Danfoss clients. We made the decision to store the control settings in a database within the frequency converter.

The outcome: a configurable frequency converter platform

The need for energy-efficient solutions is increasing due to changes in both regulations and standards, such as the desire to affect the environment positively, or simply for economic reasons. Frequency converters are a key piece in this energy optimization puzzle. 

Proekspert delivered Danfoss Drives a configurable frequency converter platform, called P400, that could be adapted and managed by the user in a variety of environments and applications. Users of solutions based on P400 may also generate reports on operational conditions and performance. Proekspert also worked directly with Danfoss clients when implementing P400 frequency converters in very specific applications.