Case Study: a plastic extrusion manufacturer in the mid-West reduces diode failures with Dranetz power monitoring

a plastic extrusion manufacturer in the mid-West cuts diode failures with Dranetz after spotting 192 transients in 2 seconds

A plastic extrusion manufacturer in the mid-West was experiencing repeated failures of diodes and damaged filters on a half-wave bridge rectifier circuit for a motor drive. Dranetz power monitoring equipment was used to identify the root cause, which was a series of damaging voltage transients and notching originating from an adjustable-speed drive.

The solution implemented by Dranetz was to place MOVs with an appropriate clamping voltage across the diodes to prevent their destruction. This directly addressed the transients that exceeded the diodes' ratings, stopping the failures and preventing further damage to the filters and associated power electronics.