Advantage Line
Revolutionary in design, Advantage motor starters employ state-of-the-art technology in solving motor control application problems that have existed for ages. Customer focus group input and 66,000 man-hours of engineering ingenuity have been combined to create a motor starter that dramatically extends operating life in a physical space requirement one half the size of conventional motor starters.
Offering motor overcurrent protection accurate to 2% at maximum FLC, Advantage also maintains constant coil power regardless of varying control circuit conditions, eliminating coil burnout, contact chatter and welding due to low voltage of fluttering control signals.
Advantage is designed with a full complement of features that make it the most versatile motor starter in the industry. Multifunction overload protection options provide application flexibility while reducing inventory. Communication capability extends benefits, allowing Advantage to be interactively linked to higher order control systems for monitoring, troubleshooting and control.
Technological advances incorporated in the Advantage design, such as pre-start diagnostics, increased accuracy and the ability to communicate with other systems, are benefits not realized in traditional motor starters.
Benefits
Advantage Breakthroughs To achieve the level of benefits envisioned for Advantage controls at a competitive price, it was discovered early in the development process that simply improving existing design concepts would fall short of the mark. A new approach involving a higher level of technology was required. The result was the incorporation of three technical breakthroughs - new current sensing monitoring, an energy-balanced contact closure system that increased life by decreasing electrical and mechanical wear and an intelligent coil controller optimizing the contact closing process based on varying control circuit conditions. Coordinating these breakthroughs to provide enhanced motor control performance is concentrated in the SURE chip.
Patented SURE Chip Increases Life
Advantage uses the right combination of brains and brawn in effecting a motor start. The power circuit of the contactor employs heavy-duty silver alloy contacts scientifically designed for long life. The addition of a uniquely developed application-specific micro-processor chip, called SURE, regulates power supplied to the operating coil. The regulated closing profile is tailored to existing control circuit conditions by the SURE chip. This results in an energy balanced system which reduces armature/magnet crash and contact bounce, extending mechanical and electrical life.
Improved Protection and Motor Utilization
The motor circuit monitoring and overload protection functions of Advantage starters are provided by three current sensors closely monitored by the SURE chip. This sensor/microprocessor combination yields a protection scheme closely paralleling that of the motor heating damage boundary expressed in terms of current and time. Accurate to 2% of full scale, Advantage allows full utilization of motor capability without motor damage or nuisance tripping.
No Heaters, Small Size
Advantage starters eliminate the need for costly heater elements and their associated installation expense. Standard overload protection functions include phase loss and unbalance protection, selectable trip class, automatic/manual reset and ground current protection.
Built-In Communications Capabilities Provide Two-Way Control
Advantage also offers low cost communication capability. ON/OFF commands, status and motor data can be linked to automated control systems without the addition of costly sensors, I/O modules and transducers, in a language compatible with many computer-based software systems in use today.
Protected by 22 patents and proven in many years of operating experience in harsh industrial applications, Advantage motor starters and contactors offer the user unprecedented value at a price competitive with traditional devices.
