The Calnetix's Magnetic Bearing and VSD Controller also called the Continuum™ Dual Controller is a new state of the art fully integrated hybrid controller developed for driving or controlling a fractional horsepower compressor motor on magnetic bearings for specialized applications. The Continuum™ is suitable to operate compressor motors up to a speed of 100,000 rpm. The extended maintenance-free operation is provided by Calnetix’s active magnetic bearings, which need no lubrication, and have very low rotating losses and no mechanical wear.
The Continuum™ Dual Controller is designed to communicate to an external PLC based user interface through the MODBUS protocol, and diagnostics, monitoring, and software/parameter updates can be performed over this link.
The Continuum™ consists of an active magnetic bearing (AMB) controller and a variable speed drive (VSD) motor controller in a single compact package. Two dedicated digital signal processors (DSP) are implemented in the design to control the AMB and the VSD. The DSP controlling the AMB utilizes Calnetix’s proprietary control algorithm developed for homopolar, permanent magnet bias AMBs, and the DSP controlling the VSD utilizes Calnetix’s proprietary sensorless VSD control algorithm.
