WEG, a leading supplier of drive technology, has presented its CFW11W variable speed drive to the shipbuilding and marine industry for the first time. The water-cooled drive offers up to 40% higher power in a more compact size than standard air-cooled inverters and as a result enables shipbuilders to increase efficiencies and optimise their processes on board.
Space on ships is limited, so there is minimal room available for the installation of automation components. Furthermore, there is a constant risk of corrosion from salt air, especially on deck, and electrical equipment is often exposed to high ambient temperatures. The modular, water-cooled CFW11W frequency inverter from WEG offers a solution to these challenges.
With power ratings from 450 kW to 2, 800 kW, CFW11W is suitable for low-voltage applications and is ideal for critical and support drive systems such as rudder systems, bow and stern thrusters, winches, pumps and fans. As the inverter is water-cooled, there is no additional need for fans and it offers significant size savings compared to air-cooled models. CFW11W is an economic solution, eliminating the need for costly air-conditioned electrical equipment rooms.
Unlike air-cooled inverters, CFW11W does not have any ventilation openings and is therefore immune to corrosion from salt air. As such, it offers a more reliable solution for shipbuilders, and the inverter is robust, available with an IP54 protection rating as a minimum. Enhanced cooling efficiency enables the water-cooled inverter to operate without power loss at temperatures up to 45°C – a standard requirement for many ship classifications.
The modular architecture of the CFW11W allows one to five power modules to be incorporated in a switchgear unit and controlled using a single operator panel, allowing the inverter to be optimally adapted to specific customer power requirements.
“Our water-cooled CFW11W inverters are used wherever space is tight and suitable process water is already available, ” says Johannes Schwenger, Head of Drive Systems Product Management at WEG. “Both of these conditions are found in marine and offshore applications, where costly ventilation systems can be eliminated and ordinary seawater can be used for cooling.”
“Our CFW11W inverters deliver significantly higher power than conventional models of the same size. For example, a water-cooled inverter with a 2.8 MW power rating has smaller dimensions than an air-cooled model with a 2 MW power rating. Many shipbuilding customers appreciate this and we recently received an order from a large Brazilian shipyard to equip the manoeuvring drives of eight supply ships with our water-cooled inverters.”
Aside from water cooling, the CFW11W inverters are structurally identical to WEG’s standard CFW11M models in the same product family. The inverters support open-loop vector control or field-oriented motor control with rotary transducer feedback for extremely high speed and torque accuracy. This enables precise torque settings even at low motor speeds, virtually up to the stall limit of the motor.
All functions for the effective protection of low-voltage motors are integrated in the devices. This makes them suitable for many tasks on board, such as winch drives, lifting equipment and diesel-electric drives, for which precision is required and energy savings from the elimination of mechanical regulators are desired. The CFW11W is extremely easy to operate as it has an integrated user interface (HMI) with a backlit graphical display and software-configurable function keys. With a wide selection of plug-in extension modules as well as plug-and-play functions, it can be adapted to customer needs quickly and easily using the USB port.
For more information on WEG’s CFW11W and variable speed drives visit www.weg.net.
About WEG
WEG is a major global player in the power distribution, automation and control sector. The company’s global sales now exceed US $3-billion, representing increasing global success across a wide range of product groups. These include the latest generation of transformers, LV control gear, generators, gear motors, inverter drive systems, soft starters, LV/MV and HV motors, ATEX- compliant explosion proof motors, smoke extraction motors and full turnkey systems.