In the past several years, EMA has performed multiple factory-authorized startups of the Yaskawa MV1000 Medium Voltage Variable Frequency Drive. The MV1000 is Yaskawa’s workhorse Medium Voltage drive and is quite prevalent in many markets; Yaskawa is, in fact, the largest drive producer in the world. Yaskawa has a great reputation in the MV drives market for quality and technical support and their training tends to be some of the best out there.

There are many good medium voltage drives being made by a variety of manufacturers (we work on them all), but Yaskawa’s MV1000 is particularly easy to start up compared to most of the medium voltage drives we have experienced. The programming interface is the exact same as their low voltage 1000 series VFDs. The free DriveWizard MV software is also a perk, as many other medium voltage drive manufacturers require paid licenses and/or special cables to be bought; the MV1000 uses a standard USB A/B cable that can be purchased anywhere.

To date, EMA has started up over 15 Yaskawa MV1000 MV drives on a variety of applications and have had great success in getting them running. Our service engineers have remarked that the programming of the MV1000 is, in their opinions, more intuitive than most of the other offerings out there. The MV1000 programs like a drive, not a PLC like many other drives. If you can program a low voltage drive, you can likely program the MV1000 as well.

The Yaskawa MV1000 uses a cell-based output (two cells per phase) which allows for a quick change out in the event of a cell failure. The drive uses the tried-and-true Cascaded H Bridge output topology, so each cell uses less expensive and readily available low-voltage components. The 9-level output waveform is one of the most “motor friendly” outputs in the industry as it very closely replicates a sinusoidal waveform. This allows for longer motor lead lengths between the drive and motor without the need for a filter.

While the programming itself is extremely simple, the startup procedure, dictated by Yaskawa, is very tedious and thorough. A full, factory authorized startup, which EMA is authorized to do, takes multiple days because of the various checks and procedures required by Yaskawa. There is a checklist multiple pages long that includes tasks such as: removing and inspecting all power cells, megging the transformer, checking all power supplies, and a “worst conditions run rest”. Although this takes time, the customer benefits in the end because they know every aspect of the drive has been checked.

We recently started up eight MV1000 drives ranging from 800 to 2000 HP for a local wastewater treatment plant that had some fairly complex pump controls. EMA completed the startup successfully over the course of multiple months (these were installed and started up in phases) without major issues.

We Can Help!

Do you need a startup or troubleshooting help on your Yaskawa MV1000 medium voltage variable frequency drive? Let us help you! We have Yaskawa factory-certified service engineers ready at a moment’s notice! And yes, we travel anywhere…

Email us, call us, or chat with us online for help.