Redesigned motor control centers includes first arc flash resistant design

Siemens re-engineered tiastar motor control centers include its first arc resistant MCCs compliant with ANSI/IEEE C37.20.7 standards, which can be applied to multiple designs. A base model can ship in days, a smaller compact size offers high-density design, a model integrates drives for water and wastewater applications, and a smart version has advanced diagnostics, networking, and touch screen. See photos.

August 17, 2011

Siemens Industry Inc. introduced its new family of tiastar Motor Control Centers (MCC) manufactured at its 200,000 square-foot plant in West Chicago, Ill.  The new line of MCCs will offer a broad array of innovative feature sets tailored to the needs of vertical markets such as general construction, water and wastewater, oil and gas, and general process industries, the company said in an Aug. 16 announcement.

The new tiastar MCC line includes the first Siemens Arc Resistant MCC compliant to ANSI/IEEE C37.20.7, with criteria for containing and redirecting arc flash incident energy. The arc resistant design, which can be applied to any of the redesigned models, was successfully witness tested in the presence of Underwriters Laboratories (UL) representatives.

The new SmartStart option features plug-and-play functionality which reduces commissioning time with pre-programmed and pre-configured data.  High Density designs meeting UL and NEMA standards, while reducing unit size for NEMA 1 through starters, allow for up to a 10% weight reduction and a 25% smaller footprint.

“In addition to the re-engineered features of our tiastar Motor Control Centers, Siemens is able to leverage manufacturing efficiencies at our West Chicago plant to build, deliver, commission and service products with a quick turnaround,” says Dale Langston, vice president for Siemens Industry’s Control Components and Systems Engineering business unit. “The significant investments we have and will make into our West Chicago facility demonstrate our commitment to the U.S. as our manufacturing base for NEMA Motor Control Centers.”

The new MCC family includes:

• tiastar Base:  Perfect for general construction, healthcare and hospitals, it  features Siemens “Fast Lane” program for shipping in a matter of days.

• tiastar HD: By  maintaining a smaller footprint, this unit frees up valuable real estate in high-density environments like warehouses, distribution centers, high rise buildings, oil and gas offshore drilling, select applications in food and beverage and other places where space comes at a premium. 

• tiastar H2O: Designed for the water and wastewater industries,  this model offers integrated drives and protects assets by tracking deterioration in pumps and motors leveraging predictive diagnostics for a quick resolution of process issues.  With Sinamics drives, the pump control operates more efficiently while keeping harmonic distortion at a minimum.

• tiastar Smart: Designed for the advanced needs of high end process industries and leveraging Profibus technology, tiastar Smart offers increased operational transparency, advanced diagnostics significantly easier troubleshooting and start up compared to and when compared against traditionally wired MCC. Autonomous back-up function ensures continued operation in case a general network failure occurs.

Siemens Control Components and Systems Engineering business unit manufactures and markets products for commercial industrial applications. Headquartered in Norcross, GA, products include IEC/NEMA control solutions, motor control centers, solar inverter systems and technical training.  The business unit’s customers include contractors, facility managers, OEMs, electrical distributors, end users and consulting specifying engineers.

– Edited by Mark T. Hoske, CFE Media, Control Engineering, Plant Engineering, and Consulting-Specifying Engineer, www.cfemedia.com.

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