Drive for Quality in German Lift Market

The Challenge

When OSMA launched a new gearless range, the company wanted to provide the flexibility and individuality it is known for with an extremely comfortable, accurate and smooth ride – while keeping costs down.

The Solution

Initially, OSMA was interested in the Commander SE AC drive but, as the programming capabilities of Unidrive opened up new possibilities in product design, it became the company’s drive of choice and is incorporated in over 80% of projects. Control Techniques Germany supplied OSMA with Unidrive multi-mode AC drives up to 90 kW, complete with special lift software and PC management software that removes complexity during set-up and commissioning. Each drive is also fitted with a CAN-Bus module for communication with the OSMA control system and, depending on the system requirements, additional modules are added for encoder, sin/cos or resolver feedback. Working with OSMA, Control Techniques Drive Centre in Hennef developed a unique drive and software package. “For example, we wanted to use small UPS units to bring the cabin to the nearest floor,” said Herr Hebbeler, OSMA’s Technical Manager, “but these are easily over-loaded and can burn out. We asked Dr König to help and he wrote a special piece of software to limit demand on the UPS. This works very well.”

The Benefits

The Secure Disable feature is helping to further reduce the overall system costs. The function is failsafe in operation so that when the secure disable input is disconnected, the drive will not operate the motor. Unidrive is used on both synchronous and asynchronous motors, further keeping costs down.