Connecting to PLCs and Other Devices
Hitachi inverters (drives) are useful in many types of applications. During installation,
the inverter keypad (or other programming device) will facilitate the initial
configuration. After installation, the inverter will generally receive its control
commands through the control logic connector or serial interface from another
controlling device. In a simple application such as single-conveyor speed control, a
Run/Stop switch and potentiometer will give the operator all the required control. In a
sophisticated application, you may have a
programmable logic controller
(PLC) as the
system controller, with several connections to the inverter.
It is not possible to cover all the possible types of application in this manual. It will be
necessary for you to know the electrical characteristics of the devices you want to
connect to the inverter. Then, this section and the following sections on I/O terminal
functions can help you quickly and safely connect those devices to the inverter.
CAUTION: It is possible to damage the inverter or other devices if your application
exceeds the maximum current or voltage characteristics of a connection point.
The connections between the inverter and
other devices rely on the electrical
input/output characteristics at both ends of
each connection, shown in the diagram to the
right. The inverter’s configurable inputs
accept either a sourcing or sinking output
from an external device (such as PLC). This
chapter shows the inverter’s internal
electrical component(s) at each I/O terminal.
In some cases, you will need to insert a power
source in the interface wiring.
In order to avoid equipment damage and get
your application running smoothly, we
recommend drawing a schematic of each
connection between the inverter and the
other device. Include the internal components
of each device in the schematic, so that it
makes a complete circuit loop.
After making the schematic, then:
1. Verify that the current and voltage for
each connection is within the operating
limits of each device.
2. Make sure that the logic sense (active high or active low) of any ON/OFF connection
is correct.
3. Check the zero and span (curve end points) for analog connections, and be sure the
scale factor from input to output is correct.
4. Understand what will happen at the system level if any particular device suddenly
loses power, or powers up after other devices.
Other device
Input
circuit
Output
circuit
X200 inverter
Input
circuit
Output
circuit
signal
return
signal
return
Other device X200 inverter
Input
circuits
P24
1
2
3
4
5
L
24V
+ -
GND
4−4
Operations and
Monitoring