DURApulse GS30 VFD Option Modules from AutomationDirect

The DURApulse GS30 AC drives from AutomationDirect have a wide range of option cards. If you need Ethernet-based communications like Ethernet I/P or Modbus TCP there are two options available for single or dual port. And there is also an EtherCAT module. There are multiple analog, digital and encoder I/O options and even a control power backup module. The GS30 supports installation of up to two cards at a time. I/O cards must be installed in Position 1. The dual-purpose Ethernet IP or Modbus TCP communication cards and the GS30A-BPS, control power backup module, can be installed in Position 1 or 2. The EtherCAT module must be installed in Position 2. This means you can have one comm card and one I/O card installed, or the GS30A-BPS and either a comm card or an I/O card. I’m going to install the dual-purpose ethernet card and an encoder input card in an A-frame drive. Here are the parts used in this video. For frame A through D-sized drives a mounting cover is required to install a second card. The EtherCAT module comes with this cover. If you are using one of the Ethernet I/P and Modbus TCP cards in Position 2, like I am here, you need to order that separately. Before doing any work be sure to remove power from the drive and wait at least 15 minutes to allow the capacitors to discharge. The I/O cards connect to this port and the communication card will connect here. This connector, included with the encoder card, is installed first. Next, since this port will be covered by the encoder card I’ll go ahead and install the cable for the ethernet card now and I’ll connect the ground cable for each card. Then I’ll install the support frame by lining up these 2 clips. Now, we’ll mount the card by aligning these positioning pins and the connector. Be sure the card snaps into the locking tabs on the support frame and install the mounting screw. Last, connect the ground to the PE terminal and re-install the cover. Using the encoder card is covered in another video so now let's move on to installing the Ethenet card This ethernet card allows for either IP or Modbus TCP and has 2 ports to support linear bus or ring topologies. This procedure is the same for the other communications cards like the EtherCAT card. I previously installed the cable for this card. There are actually 2 cables provided with the communication cards - a short one labeled "S" and a long one labeled "L". The short cable is used for Position 1 on the smaller A through D frame drives and the long cable is used for larger drives or Position 2 like I’m doing here. Using the Position 2 cover, slide off the front. The card is installed from the back at an angle, like so. You may need to view from the front to make sure of alignment and be sure the positioning pin and screw holes line up. Then simply screw down the card and snap the cover into place on the front of the drive. Now it’s easy to connect the ground wire here on the PE terminal and the cable, here. And finally, slide in the front cover. You may have noticed a small jumper in the bag with the screw and PE connector. This is for future firmware updates, set this aside and see the GSoft2 help file for more info on that. The ethernet card is configured using Group 9 communication parameters. Particularly 9.74 allow you to choose Ethernet/IP Modbus TCP or both and 9.76 through 9.87 configure the IP address, mask and gateway. We won’t get into these here since they are application-specific. AutomationDirect is providing the products and support you need to make us your common sense way to buy industrial controls. To see all GS30 drive videos, click here. To buy drives for your applications, click here. For more help, see our award-winning support options here.