Yaskawa Drives, Servo and Controllers, New Zealand

RFQ / Yaskawa

Every Yaskawa drive model number starts CIMR, and what the digits mean changed between generations. On the Varispeed ranges they are kilowatts. On A1000 and later they are amps. Reading one convention across the other is how the wrong drive gets ordered.

Yaskawa is on a great deal of New Zealand machinery, particularly packaging, plastics, materials handling and anything imported from Japan. The Varispeed generation is obsolete and still working, and Sigma servo turns up on almost every machine built in the last twenty years.

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Reference pages

Page	Covers
Varispeed G5, G7, F7, E7, P7, V7 and J7	The kW model number convention, the VS-616 and VS-606 naming, PG feedback cards, why the G7 was specified on long cable runs, and the honest migration comparison
A1000, V1000 and the GA ranges	The amps convention, Normal against Heavy Duty, permanent magnet motors, the safe disable links, option cards and the maintenance monitors
Sigma servo drives and motors	The SGD and SGM generations, why an amplifier and motor are a matched pair, encoder generations, the absolute encoder battery, brake and shaft codes, and MECHATROLINK

Two separate product worlds

Worth establishing first, because they share a brand and almost nothing else.

Prefix	What it is
CIMR	Inverter drives. Induction motor speed control
SGD	Sigma servo amplifiers
SGM	Sigma servo motors
JEPMC, MP	MP series machine controllers
YRC, DX, NX	Motoman robot controllers

CIMR is a drive and SGD is a servo amplifier. They are sized differently, ordered differently and fail differently, so the first four characters tell us which conversation we are having.

Reading a CIMR model number

The most useful thing on this page.

Take CIMR-AU4A0011.

Part	Meaning
CIMR	Yaskawa inverter
Series letter	Which drive family. A is A1000, V is V1000, F is F7 and so on
Region letter	Market specification
Voltage code	2A is 200 V three phase, 4A is 400 V three phase, B is 200 V single phase
Four digits	The rating. Amps or kW depending on generation
Trailing letters	Enclosure, filter and specification

The convention changed between generations

Generation	Digits mean	Example
Varispeed G5, G7, F7, E7, P7	Kilowatts	CIMR-F7U4011 is 400 V, 11 kW
A1000, V1000 and later	Rated output amps	CIMR-AU4A0011 is 400 V, 11 A

So the same four digits mean roughly half the machine on one generation and roughly double on the other. An 11 kW motor at 400 V draws around 22 A, so somebody replacing an F7 with an A1000 and matching digits orders a drive around half the size they need.

Two rules that cost nothing. Size from the motor nameplate full load current, and check the drive's own rating plate, which states the output current directly whichever convention the model number uses.

Single phase input is a real variant

The 200 V class includes single phase input models, and they still produce a three phase output to the motor. Common on small machines and workshop equipment.

So a three phase motor running from a single phase supply is normal. Check the incoming supply as well as the motor, because a three phase input drive will not run on single phase.

Normal Duty and Heavy Duty are two ratings for one drive

The other reason a kW figure is not enough.

	Normal Duty	Heavy Duty
Suited to	Fans, pumps, centrifugal loads	Conveyors, extruders, mixers, hoists
Continuous current	Higher	Lower
Overload capability	Lower	Higher, for breakaway torque

The same model number covers both, and the duty is a parameter setting. A drive sized on Normal Duty and used on a Heavy Duty load will trip on overload, and that is correct behaviour rather than a fault.

Tell us what the load is. It changes which drive we quote.

The ranges

Current production

Range	Built for
GA500	Compact general purpose
GA700, GA800	The current flagship industrial drives
U1000	Matrix converter. Low harmonics and full regeneration
iQpump1000	Pump specific
CR700	Regenerative converter

Mature and discontinued

Range	Notes
A1000	The high performance workhorse. Very large installed base
V1000	Compact general purpose. Everywhere on small machines
J1000	Simple compact drive
P1000	Fan and pump
Z1000	Building services
G7, F7, E7, P7	The Varispeed generation. Obsolete, widely installed
V7, VS-606V7, VS-mini J7	Small legacy drives
G5, VS-616G5	Earlier flagship
VS-616PC5	Earlier specialist

G7, F7, V7 and G5 are where most of our drive enquiries sit. All obsolete, all still running machines, and none of them replaceable without recommissioning.

Controllers and robots

Range	Notes
MP2000 series	MP2200, MP2300 machine controllers
MP3000 series	Current machine controllers
VIPA	SLIO and System 300S PLCs, sold under Yaskawa in some markets
Motoman	Robots and the XRC, NX100, DX100, DX200 and YRC1000 controllers

The digital operator copies parameters

The same pattern as every other brand on this site, and most sites do not use it.

The removable digital operator can copy a full parameter set out of one drive and load it into another. No laptop, no software, no licence.

Situation	Outcome
Parameter copy on the operator	Fit the drive, load, verify, run
No copy	Every parameter re-entered, if the values are recorded anywhere
A row of identical machines	One operator commissions all of them

There is also a verify function, which compares the drive against the stored set and tells you what has been changed. Genuinely useful on a machine somebody has adjusted without recording it.

The operator is matched to the drive generation and does not cross. So a copy taken off an F7 is no help on an A1000, which is one more reason a migration is a project.

And the operator can stop the machine

A drive can be configured to fault when the operator is disconnected. So unplugging the keypad on a running machine stops it, and that is a setting rather than a fault.

The drive tracks its own component life

One of the more useful things Yaskawa does, and almost nobody reads it.

The drive estimates remaining service life for its wear components and reports it in the monitor parameters.

Component	Why it matters
Cooling fan	A consumable, and separately replaceable
DC bus capacitors	The thing that eventually ends the drive
Soft charge relay	Fails as an inability to start
IGBT	Usage based estimate

So before condemning a drive that has been misbehaving, read the maintenance monitors. If the fan is at end of life the answer is a fan, and if the capacitors are the answer at least you know before the machine stops.

It also tells you the real age of a used drive, which the invoice date does not. We read these before we sell a used unit.

Common faults and what they usually mean

Code	Meaning	Usually
oC	Over current	Output short, motor cable, or a failed output stage
oV	DC bus over voltage	Braking. Deceleration too fast, or no braking resistor
Uv1	DC bus under voltage	Supply dip or an input phase
Uv2	Control power supply fault	Internal supply
Uv3	Soft charge circuit fault	The soft charge relay. A known wear item
oL1	Motor overload	Load, or motor rated current set wrongly
oL2	Drive overload	Duty. Check Normal against Heavy Duty sizing
oH, oH1	Heatsink over temperature	Fan and airflow. Both serviceable
GF	Ground fault	Motor or motor cable, more often than the drive
PF	Input phase loss	Supply side. Fuse or contactor
LF	Output phase loss	Motor cable, terminal or a winding
PGo	Encoder feedback lost	Encoder, cable or the PG card
oPr	Operator disconnected	Somebody removed the keypad
CPF	Control circuit fault	The drive
EF	External fault	The machine told the drive to stop
CE, bUS	Communication fault	Network cabling, or the option card

Note how many point outward. Ground fault, output phase loss, input phase loss, encoder loss and external fault are all outside the drive, and oH is usually a fan.

Uv3 is the one worth knowing. The soft charge circuit limits inrush on power up, and its relay is a wear item. A drive that will not start but is otherwise healthy may need that rather than replacing.

Braking, and where the hardware is

Frame	Braking arrangement
Smaller frames	Braking transistor built in. Add an external resistor
Larger frames	A separate braking unit plus a resistor

So on a larger drive the braking unit is a distinct part in the panel, with its own rating and its own failure modes, and it is frequently left off a parts list.

An oV trip on deceleration points at the braking arrangement rather than the drive.

Capacitor reforming on stored drives

The DC bus capacitors in a drive that has sat unpowered for years need reforming before it is run at full mains. A drive bought as a spare and shelved is not necessarily a working spare.

Powering a shelf spare up occasionally keeps it one, and it takes minutes. Used and surplus drives from us are powered up and tested before they ship, and where a unit has been in long storage we tell you.

Before you touch a Yaskawa drive

The DC bus holds a dangerous voltage after the mains is removed, and the waiting time depends on the frame size. Isolating the supply does not make the drive safe.

Wait the time specified for that frame, then measure the DC bus before working on it. Larger frames need considerably longer.

Before ordering a replacement

Symptom	Check first
oH or oH1	Cooling fan and airflow. Read the maintenance monitor
oV on deceleration	Braking unit, resistor and ramp time
Uv3	The soft charge relay
oL2 under load	Normal against Heavy Duty sizing
GF or LF	Motor and motor cable, before the drive
PGo, or no closed loop on a new drive	The PG feedback card
Trips when the keypad is removed	oPr. That is a setting, not a fault
Wrong size ordered last time	kW against amps between generations
Shelf spare will not run	DC bus capacitors after long storage

What to send us

The full CIMR model number.

The drive rating plate output current, which settles the sizing convention.

The motor nameplate full load current and voltage.

What the load is. Fan, pump, conveyor, extruder. That decides Normal or Heavy Duty.

Whether the supply is single phase or three phase.

Whether the application is closed loop, and what the encoder is.

The fault code.

Whether there is a braking unit and resistor in the panel.

What option cards are fitted.

What we can supply

Current production. GA500, GA700, GA800, U1000, iQpump1000 and CR700, plus operators, option cards, braking units and resistors.

Mature and discontinued. A1000, V1000, J1000, P1000, Z1000, and the Varispeed G7, F7, E7, P7, V7 and G5 ranges. New old stock, surplus and tested used.

Servo. Sigma amplifiers and motors across the generations. See our Sigma servo page.

Controllers and robots. MP series machine controllers and Motoman controller spares.

Parts. Cooling fans, digital operators, PG feedback cards, communication cards, braking units and resistors.

We buy Yaskawa

The Varispeed generation holds real value because the machines running it cannot buy new, and Sigma servo holds value because amplifiers and motors are matched sets.

Keep digital operators with their drives, cards in their slots, and servo amplifiers with the motors and cables they ran. A matched servo set is worth considerably more than the parts separately. See Sell To Us.

Common questions

Can you get a part that is not listed on your site?
Usually. The site shows what we hold, not what we can source.

Is CIMR-4A0011 an 11 kW drive?
On A1000 and later it is rated 11 A output. On an F7 the same digits would be kilowatts. Check the drive rating plate and size from the motor.

Can I run a three phase motor from a single phase supply?
Yes, with a single phase input drive. Check the incoming supply as well as the motor.

Why does my drive trip on overload when it is the right kW?
Check Normal against Heavy Duty. The same model has two current ratings and the duty is a setting.

The drive faults when I unplug the keypad.
That is oPr and it is a configured behaviour rather than a fault.

Can I replace a G7 with an A1000?
Functionally in most cases. It is a recommissioning job, the sizing convention differs, and the operator and cards do not carry across.

Do you supply used equipment?
Yes, where new is not available. Used drives are powered up and tested before they ship.

What is the lead time?
Ex stock items ship the next working day within New Zealand. We give you a firm lead time with the quote.

Do you quote in NZD?
Yes, in NZD including GST for New Zealand customers.

Send us your model numbers

Send the CIMR number and the motor nameplate current together. The digits in the drive number mean different things on different generations, and the motor is what actually sizes it. Quotes in NZD including GST.

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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 Yaskawa. Yaskawa, Varispeed, Sigma, MECHATROLINK, Motoman and VIPA are trademarks of Yaskawa Electric Corporation and its subsidiaries. All trademarks, brand names and model numbers are the property of their respective owners and are used here for identification purposes only.