Motor Control Centers or also called MCC's, are an assembly of one enclosed section or more, which have a common power bus mainly containing motor control units. They have been utilized since the 1950's by the auto industry, for the reason that they utilized many electric motors. Nowadays, they are utilized in different commercial and industrial applications.
Motor control centers are a modern practice in factory assembly for several motor starters. This particular machinery could consist of programmable controllers, metering and variable frequency drives. The MCC's are usually seen in the electrical service entrance for a building. Motor control centers frequently are utilized for low voltage, 3-phase alternating current motors that range from 230 V to 600V. Medium voltage motor control centers are intended for large motors which vary from 2300V to 15000 V. These units utilize vacuum contractors for switching with separate compartments in order to accomplish power control and switching.
In locations where very corrosive or dusty processes are happening, the motor control center could be installed in a separate air-conditioned room. Typically the MCC will be situated on the factory floor close to the equipment it is controlling.
For plug-in mounting of individual motor controls, A motor control center has one or more vertical metal cabinet sections with power bus. To be able to complete testing or maintenance, really large controllers could be bolted into place, while smaller controllers could be unplugged from the cabinet. Each motor controller consists of a contractor or a solid state motor controller, overload relays to be able to protect the motor, fuses or circuit breakers to provide short-circuit protection as well as a disconnecting switch so as to isolate the motor circuit. Separate connectors enable 3-phase power to be able to enter the controller. The motor is wired to terminals situated within the controller. Motor control centers provide wire ways for power cables and field control.
Inside a motor control center, each and every motor controller could be specified with a lot of different alternatives. Some of the options include: extra control terminal blocks, control switches, pilot lamps, separate control transformers, and numerous kinds of solid-state and bi-metal overload protection relays. They even have various classes of types of circuit breakers and power fuses.
Concerning the delivery of motor control centers, there are many choices for the consumer. These can be delivered as an engineered assembly with a programmable controller along with internal control or with interlocking wiring to a central control terminal panel board. On the other hand, they could be provided prepared for the customer to connect all field wiring.
Motor control centers normally sit on the floor and should have a fire-resistance rating. Fire stops could be required for cables which penetrate fire-rated walls and floors.
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