Automation Canada Quarterly Volume 2 Issue 5 - 3

ADVANCING MICRODRIVES

DISCUSSING THE GA500 INDUSTRIAL
AC MICRODRIVE WITH EDWARD TOM
BY OWEN HURST AND SARAH PICKARD
Motor control is one of the most important directions being taken to ensure
efficiency, longevity of motor operation and to ensure downtime is minimized.
And one of the most notable directions in this field is the growing demand for
micro drives. As size is a common concern for those using drive technology
micro drives can offer an optimal solution.
Recently we had the opportunity to chat with Edward Tom,
Product Manager of Drives for Yaskawa America's Drives and
Motion Division to chat about their innovative GA500
Industrial AC Microdrive.
The discussion began with a consideration surrounding
the development of the GA500. Edward noted that although
the drive market is becoming increasingly competitive the
GA500 was born out of more than competitive pressure or
the desire to produce something new. " By working with
customers and listening to their feedback, as well as the
feedback from field teams, Yaskawa found a justification for a
product that they knew end-users were looking for. "
Recognizing that there was a market need Yaskawa
focused on making a next generation product that brought
increased value and convenience to users while building
upon the functionality and features of their core models such
as the V1000. The field use of previous models served as
essential information going forward with the development of
the GA500, giving engineers an understanding of what changes to be made,
and what to leave alone.
" It was essential to the development process that they understand how the
GA500 would function not only at regular usage, but how the product would
function in ten years if its limits were truly tested, " Noted Edward Tom.
" While certain aspects of the GA500 are beyond control-the lifespan of the

C A N A D I A N A U TO M AT I O N

electro capacitors, for example-new developments were focused on
ensuring end-users gain the maximum amount of use for the maximum amount
of time.
Unlike some drives that are somewhat complicated to use or are limited in
their capacity the GA500 was designed to be as
straightforward as possible. The USB port on the GA500 is
fully accessible, allowing the user to connect to and program
the drive at any moment. Users can power up to five separate
drives with one network option card, and the ability to
program multiple drives at once means no longer spending
time waiting for the power supply to arrive. Simply put the
GA500 saves you time and energy.
The focus was not only on making the GA500 easy to use
but also providing users with all the additional knowledge
and tools they need to implement the drive right from the
start. Edward explains that " accompanying tech sheets
include a QR code to quickly give the user all required
information. Also included with purchase of the GA500 are
mounting dimensions and a template are included along
with a simplified pictorial startup guide. "
The Microdrive was designed with an intuitive keypad and
setup wizard that substantially reduces setup time. The
GA500 connects to your network in less than sixty seconds
and supports all major industrial communications and connection topologies
to adapt to various factory automation networks.
So far, customers have been enjoying the new look of the product. As Tom
noted, " We wanted to give them experience and get them from A-B, with ways
to get to resources that help to make their experience enjoyable. We want
setup to be simple enough that customers forget how easy it was to install. "

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 5

3

https://www.yaskawa.com/documents/20197/5989865/ga500.html/1d7ac37f-66b3-4fdc-884f-a49bf11621f9 https://www.yaskawa.com/documents/20197/5989865/ga500.html/1d7ac37f-66b3-4fdc-884f-a49bf11621f9 https://www.yaskawa.com/ https://www.yaskawa.com/documents/20197/5989865/ga500.html/1d7ac37f-66b3-4fdc-884f-a49bf11621f9

Automation Canada Quarterly Volume 2 Issue 5

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automation Canada Quarterly Volume 2 Issue 5