Demonstrating a VFD

We have to do a factory demo in our shop showing the usual stuff like making sure the HMI talks to the PLC, PLC controls the I/O and to a couple of 40HP ABB VFD's. The VFD's are at our shop too.

Here's my question: is it OK to just hook up a small 3ph motor to the VFD output? Obviously we don't have a 40HP motor here.

Since we'll have to buy or scrounge a motor up for this how small can we go (1/2HP, 1HP)?

NOTE: I have a call into the drive manuf's tech support to get their opinion but they haven't responded yet.

I don't know which model drive you are using but, in general, if you leave the drive in Scalar: V/Hz mode, you can connect a small motor (say 1/2 hp) and all will be well.

Almost all inverter drives will run a small motor when set to factory default settings. As long as you aren't doing anything strange with the control setup you should be fine.

DickDV said:

I don't know which model drive you are using but, in general, if you leave the drive in Scalar: V/Hz mode, you can connect a small motor (say 1/2 hp) and all will be well.

Click to expand...

It's an ABB ACS800 model.

We're not doing anything special, just 4-20mA control.

Thanks for everyone's time.

just try it, when the motor can have the voltage its oke.
only ramping will be different as this is current sensitive.

On the ACS800, it is important that you go into Parameter 9904 and set it to Scalar. Also, you must put the motor nameplate data into 9905, 9906, 9907, and 9908.

Otherwise, you will get............nothing! The 800 ships defaulted as a precision vector drive and it has to be pulled a bit out of shape to get it to act like an ordinary V/Hz drive.