A motor control center (MCC) is an assembly to control some or all electric motors in a central location. It consists of multiple enclosed sections having a common power bus and with each section containing a combination starter, which in turn consists of motor starter, fuses or circuit breaker, and power disconnect. A motor control center can also include push buttons, indicator lights, variable-frequency drives, programmable logic controllers, and metering equipment.
The major components for a MCC panel is
- Circuit braker
- Magnetic Contactor
- Overlode Relay
- Contactor Auxiliary Contact
Motor Control Centres (MCCs) are classified into two types.
- Low voltage MCC
- Medium voltage MCC
MCC’s are typically found in large commercial or industrial buildings where there are many electric motors that need to be controlled from a central location, such as a mechanical room or electrical room.
The MCC also supports various motor starting methods, including the DOL and star-delta starter.
Advantages of Motor control Center:-
Using Motor control Centers, components can be coordinated from a single point. If compared to separately mounted controls, pre assembled and pretested electrical distribution and motor control equipment is generally less expensive to install.
The Motor control Center requires significantly less line-side power wiring than separate controls, making them easier to install.
An Motor control Center’s packaging is space-efficient, and it offers excellent configuration flexibility. Maintenance is also centrally managed.
Electrical component isolation and fault containment are excellent features of Motor control Centers.
Motor control Centers are used when multiple, remotely controlled loads are linked to a central control point. An industrial plant’s central control point is usually its environmental control system, which controls HVAC, pumps, and fans. Industrial process equipment includes a wide variety of load types, such as conveyors, pumps, fans, and mixers. These loads are often controlled in a coordinated manner and can provide important diagnostic information about a machine or process. This type of control and data acquisition functionality is typically provided by a distributed control system (DCS) or a programmable logic controller (PLC).