Motors & Drives

Rockwell Automation Allen-Bradley Overhauls Branch Motor Control and Protection Solutions

July 12, 2023

Rockwell Automation’s Branch Motor Controls and Protection Solutions offer a range of combinations and accessories for applications that require smart industrial control.

Sharon Spielman

Electric motor starters continue to be used in industrial applications even with increased solid-state motor starting technologies on the market. Their components comprise motor starting contactors, motor-specific circuit breakers and motor-overload relays, where the motor overload functionality can be incorporated in the circuit breaker or applied as a separate component, depending on the application.

The line of NEMA and IEC rated contactors feature:

NEMA sizes from 00 to 8
IEC sizes from 5 to 2,650 A
Available as standalone or can be combined with compatible circuit breaker or overload relays
Options can be preconfigured open or enclosed starters with color-coded connections that are easy to wire.

Intelligent components include circuit breakers, contactors, overload relays and accessories. Overload protection is built into motor protection circuit breakers to save space in the panel. Mounting systems keep that panel clean, organized and compact. Three-component starters have a separate overload relay that can be tailored to the amount of protection required.

The company says it overhauled the motor control components within its Branch Motor Control and Protection Solutions to allow customers to update full systems where components turn on and off motors of all sizes while helping to protect the motors from overloading during operation.

SCCR Tool Offers Certified Compliance

Machine designers have to select and apply the right combination of products to meet global standards for motor control. Because this can be challenging and time-consuming, the company tests and certifies all valid combinations of Branch Motor Control & Protection Solution components to UL and IEC standards. This way, customers can readily document the compliance of their system to these standards using the company’s online Global Short-Circuit Current Rating (SCCR) tool.

About the Author

Sharon Spielman | Technical Editor, Machine Design

As Machine Design’s technical editor, Sharon Spielman produces content for the brand’s focus audience—design and multidisciplinary engineers. Her beat includes 3D printing/CAD; mechanical and motion systems, with an emphasis on pneumatics and linear motion; automation; robotics; and CNC machining.

Spielman has more than three decades of experience as a writer and editor for a range of B2B brands, including those that cover machine design; electrical design and manufacturing; interconnection technology; food and beverage manufacturing; process heating and cooling; finishing; and package converting.

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