VSD Industry Applications

What are VSDs Used for?

VSDs can be set up to the requirements of various individual applications. Compared to Soft Starters, Variable Speed Drives (VSDs) offer much more flexibility in terms of features and settings and, depending on the application, much bigger cost savings, especially where speed control is required.

VSDs can avoid pressure surges in pump applications, also known as water hammering, for conveyor belt systems it can smoothly start the system, avoiding jerks and stress on the various drive components. Fans or other systems with belt drives can be started slowly to avoid belt slipping as well as air pressure surges.

In all systems, a slow start limits the inrush current and so improves stability of the power supply and reduces transient voltage drops that may affect other loads.

The majority of VSDs are installed in pump and fan applications, although they can be incorporated into many other motor applications. Here are the main applications of a VSD:

• Steel industries (Rolling mills and processing lines)
• Cement industries
• Sugar plants
• Paper and pulp
• Rubber and plastic
• Textile industries
• Machine tool applications
• Power sector
• Water supply
• Various process control application
• Etc…

As you can see, VSDs can be adapted to serve a wide variety of applications in motor controls. The advantages of using VSDs as part of your suite of motor controls are clear – longer equipment life and smoother production flow, which translates into time and cost savings.

For more information regarding VSDs, please refer to the following related blog posts:

• What is a Variable Speed Drive (VSD)?
• Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) vs Variable Speed Drive (VSD)
• How do Variable Speed Drives (VSDs) Work?
• Advantages of Variable Speed Drives
• Single-Phase To 3-Phase Converters – VSD – EMHEATER
• Choosing between a VSD and a Soft Starter
• Variable Speed Drive vs Solar Drive (for Water Pumps)
• Variable Speed Drive – EMHEATER – Intro Video
• EMHEATER VSD and Solar Drive Fault Diagnosis – Errors
• VSD – Horticulture – Reduce Costs- ESKOM Fact Sheet
• VSD – Oil/Gas/Petrochemical – Reduce Costs- ESKOM Fact Sheet
• VSD – HVAC – Reduce Costs- ESKOM Fact Sheet
• VSD – Farm Irrigation – Reduce Costs – ESKOM Fact Sheet