Ideal

This section describes single- and double-throw contactors modeled as ideal switches.

The Schematic Editor core library includes 1-, 2-, 3-phase single and double throw contactors which are shown in Table 1. Contactors are modeled with ideal switches (zero on resistance and infinite off resistance) that instantaneously change state upon control input signal change.

Table 1. Contactor components in the Schematic Editor core library
component component dialog window component parameters

SPST contactor

DPST contactor

TPST contactor

MPST contactor
  • General
    • Control source
    • Sa
    • Sa logic
    • Feedback output
    • Signal type
    • Execution rate
    • Number of phases (available for MPST contactor)
  • Initial state
    • Initial state
  • Timing
    • On delay
    • Off delay
    • Switching

SPDT contactor

DPDT contactor

TPDT contactor

Contactor properties are described in Table 2.

Table 2. Contactor properties
Group Name Description
General Control source Choose if the contactor is controlled by a digital input signal or through a signal from the model.
Sa Contactor gate signal digital input channel address: Sa(1..N).
Sa logic Contactor gate logic (active_high or active_low)
Feedback output Enable contactor feedback Signal Processing output
Signal type Contactor feedback signal type
Execution rate Signal Processing execution rate
Number of phases For Multi Pole Single Throw (MPST) contactor, it is possible to choose a number of phases from 1 up to 10
Initial state Initial state Contactor initial state
Timing On delay Turn ON (closing) delay.
Off delay Turn OFF (opening) delay.
Switching Choose between any current or zero current switching mode.

Internal digital probes to the contactors

Digital output variable name Description
name_fb Digital feedback signal signalizes the contactor state

Contactor feedback Signal Processing output

Signal Processing output for the contactor feedback signal can be enabled by setting the property Feedback output to True. This will create an output terminal on the contactor that can be used in the Signal Processing part of the schematic. This is illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Contactor feedback SP signal

It is important to mention that the Signal Processing feedback output is delayed in comparison with the Digital feedback output signal due to the Signal Processing execution rate. Figure 2 illustrates this.

Figure 2. Signal delay

Digital Alias

If the contactor is controlled by digital input, the alias for digital input used by contactor will be created. The digital input alias will be available under the Digital inputs list alongside the existing Digital input signals. The alias will be shown as Contactor_name.Switch_name, where Contactor_name is the name of the contactor component and Switch_name is the name of the controllable switch in the contactor.