Speaking at the First Friday Club Editors’ Briefing in September, Nidec Control Techniques global product manager Roxana Suteu said: “We are focusing on simple applications where users are not necessarily very experienced with drives. The key benefits include ease of installation, cost-effectiveness and reliability.”
Suteu explained that the Marshal app is being introduced to customers that traditionally use a keypad.
“There’s no requirement to get any other accessories to make the drive work,” she continued. “You just wire it, commission it with the app and you’re ready to go.”
Marshal is powered by near field communication technology and is said to allow power on/off commissioning, even when the drive is still in the box. The app is expected to provide real-time diagnostics even when the drive is powered off while also allowing users to share wiring diagrams and drive configurations as a PDF file via email or WhatsApp.
A key benefit Suteu highlighted related to cloning for multiple drives. “Once you set up the first drive, you can tap up to 100 other drives that can be set up within the same parameter set. When replacing a drive in the field, even if there is no power to that drive, you can still copy the parameter set from that drive and then wire another one in the field, tap against the drive, and this one is also installed.”
The click-on/off DIN rail mounting is intended to make it easier for users to install the drive, and Commander S’ small footprint and installation are claimed to save cabinet space.
Commander S is available in three frame sizes with a power range of 0.18 kW to 4 kW (0.25 to 5 hp).
Marshal, available for Android and iOS, is said to enable drive set-up 60 seconds.