ABB / ACS880 industrial drives

The ACS880 voltage digit is not the same as the ACS550 and ACS580 voltage digit. A 400 V ACS880 ends in 3, not 4.

The ACS880 is ABB's industrial drive for demanding applications: high torque accuracy, advanced control modes and full application programming. It succeeds the ACS800 and turns up on cranes, winders, extruders and heavy process plant.

The voltage digit changes between families

This is the single most useful thing on the page, and it silently defeats people who assume one scheme covers ABB.

An ACS880-01-045A-3 and an ACS580-01-045A-4 are both 45 A drives on a 400 V supply. Same current, same voltage class, different digit.

So a -4 is correct on an ACS580 and wrong on an ACS880. If someone cross-references between families by pattern rather than by table, this is where it goes wrong.

The full ACS880 voltage map

Compare with the ACS550 and ACS580, which use 2, 4 and 6. Different families, different maps.

ACS880-01 at 380 to 415 V

The complete range with frame sizes, from ABB documentation.

Frame assignments above R5 vary slightly between catalogue revisions. Tell us the type code and we will confirm the frame against the current ABB data before quoting, since frame size decides whether it fits the existing space.

Approximate motor power

ABB publishes nominal, light-overload and heavy-duty ratings for every model, and the right one depends on your load. Indicative heavy-duty figures at 400 V:

Note how far apart the ratings sit. An 032A-3 is 15 kW in nominal use and 11 kW heavy duty. On a crusher, winder or crane, use the heavy duty column.

Send us the motor full load current and the load type and we will size it against the ABB table rather than a rule of thumb.

Fuse and cable sizing

From the ABB ACS880-01 quick installation guide. Rarely published and useful at install time.

Note the jump in cable size between 12A6 and 017A, from 1.5 mm sq to 6 mm sq. If you are uprating a drive across that boundary, the supply cable changes too. That is often the hidden cost in a drive upgrade.

The 170M series are semiconductor fuses. A standard HRC fuse is not a substitute. Semiconductor fuses clear far faster and are what protects the drive's power stage.

Matched du/dt filters

Same NOCH and FOCH families as the ACS550, matched to drive rating.

What a du/dt filter is actually for

Worth explaining because it gets removed during drive swaps.

A drive switches its output very fast. On a long motor cable that fast edge produces voltage overshoot at the motor terminals, which stresses the winding insulation. A du/dt filter slows the edge.

If a motor keeps failing on a drive with a long cable run, check whether there was once a filter fitted. The failure appears months after the filter was left out, so the two are rarely connected.

Construction variants

The construction digits are not interchangeable. An ACS880-11 is regenerative, meaning it returns braking energy to the supply. An ACS880-01 does not, and needs a brake resistor instead.

If your installation has no brake resistor but the load overhauls, such as a crane lowering or a centrifuge decelerating, you almost certainly have a -11 or -31 and a plain -01 will trip on overvoltage.

The -31 and -34 ultra low harmonic variants are specified where supply harmonics matter. Replacing one with a standard drive can put a site out of compliance with its network connection agreement.

Marine approval, the +C132 code

ABB publishes separate rating tables for +C132 marine type-approved drives, covering ACS880-01 and ACS880-04.

The marine ratings differ from the standard ratings. If you have a +C132 drive, it was specified for a reason and the type approval goes with the code. Send the full designation.

Relevant in New Zealand for vessels, ports and offshore work.

Replacing an ACS800

The ACS880 is ABB's successor to the ACS800.

It is not a drop-in. Different dimensions, different parameter structure and a different control platform. An ACS800 replacement on a running machine is a commissioning job, not a swap.

Or keep the ACS800 going. If a line is down, a surplus or tested used ACS800 of the same type gets you running with the existing parameters and no panel change. Migrate on a planned outage.

What usually fails

Cooling fans. The most common fault by a wide margin and a fraction of the drive cost.

Control panels. Separate part, separate order number.

Fieldbus adapter modules. The FENA, FPBA and FCAN modules are separate and are frequently missing from a used drive. If your drive talks to a PLC over a network, check the replacement has the same adapter.

DC bus capacitors on drives that have sat unpowered for years.

What we can supply

Current production. ACS880 across the 01, 04, 07, 11 and 31 constructions, plus du/dt filters, fuses, fieldbus adapters and option modules. Quoted with a delivered lead time.

ACS800 and earlier. Surplus and tested used, which is often the only like-for-like option.

Spares. Fans, control panels, adapter modules and filters.

We buy ABB drives

ACS800 and ACS880 both hold value, and so do the option modules. If you are upgrading, do not scrap them. See Sell To Us.

Related

ABB overview. ACS550 and ACS580 for the general purpose range.

For drives from other brands see SINAMICS G120, MASTERDRIVES, PowerFlex and Omron 3G3.

Send us your type designations

Send the whole code including the voltage digit, remembering that an ACS880 on a 400 V supply ends in 3 and not 4. Include any plus codes, especially +C132. Quotes in NZD including GST.

Request a quote

Industech is an independent supplier of new, surplus and used industrial automation equipment. We are not an authorised distributor of, approved by, sanctioned by, or affiliated with ABB Ltd. ABB and ACS are trademarks of ABB Ltd. Bussmann is a trademark of Eaton. All trademarks, brand names and type designations are the property of their respective owners and are used here for identification purposes only.