Curtis Instruments India in association with Albright International has served battery operated electric vehicle market over many decades. Curtis Instruments India is master distributor of Albright International.

High D.C. voltage requirements are an increasing necessity in today’s world. Albright has extended their range to include high voltage contactor (up to 500 volts) and full hermetic sealing.

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It gives us immense pleasure to announce that Curtis Instruments India Pvt Ltd is now an ISO 9001:2015 Company!

KOHLER, Wis., Jan. 10, 2022 – Kohler Co. announces that its Power Group – a global leader in engines, power generation and clean energy solutions – has signed an agreement to acquire multinational Curtis Instruments, headquartered in Mount Kisco, New York. Curtis is a leading electrification partner to OEMs across a broad range of markets including material handling, golf and recreational vehicles, mobile elevated work platforms, construction, agriculture, turf care, marine, medical mobility and select on-road segments. Founded in 1960, the company employs approximately 1,100 individuals and operates in 16 countries, including manufacturing locations in Puerto Rico, Bulgaria, China and India.

Curtis’ product portfolio spans motor speed controllers, HMIs and instrumentation, power conversion, CAN modules and other accessories. With a deep roster of talent across five engineering centers, Curtis also develops advanced software solutions for its customers. The acquisition expands and diversifies Kohler’s power portfolio by leveraging Curtis’ electrification expertise with Kohler’s well-established gasoline and diesel engine business to best serve off-highway OEM customers. Curtis Instruments will operate as a standalone entity within the Kohler Power Group with Stuart Marwell, President, reporting to Brian Melka, Group President – Power. Kohler Power and Curtis now have more than 160 years of combined technical experience in energy management solutions. Terms of the agreement are not disclosed.

The transaction is announced just days following Kohler’s acquisition of Heila Technologies – a microgrid software controls company – and the creation of a separate Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS) business unit focused on residential energy storage. These moves represent Kohler’s continued commitment to lead in diversified distributed energy solutions.

“We’re excited to welcome Curtis Instruments to our Kohler Power organization. This business, under the leadership of Stuart and Nick Marwell, is highly regarded for its market-leading position and expertise in electric and hybrid off-highway applications,” said Melka. “For more than 100 years, Kohler has been a preferred source of power for homes, businesses, and equipment, and integrating the Kohler and Curtis product portfolios and existing OEM relationships will create substantial growth opportunities for both brands. With this acquisition, we are leveraging our history of trusted expertise in power resiliency, as clean energy continues to play a crucial role in the continued expansion of Kohler Power.”

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This high performing smart design comes in a tough housing with a very small footprint, making it perfect for the harsh Class III Pallet Truck market.

ACF2-A Flexibility; fully optimised to perform either as a traction controller for 1.0 and 2.0 ton Class III powered pallet trucks, or as a traction or hydraulic pump controller on other types of battery powered vehicle.  The ACF2-A’s auto-characterisation allows simple on-truck pairing with any Induction and SPM motor types.  Simply choose from a comprehensive library of induction motor types stored in the controller memory.

ACF2-A Safety; Exceeds global conformance requirements for EMC, functional and electrical safety, UL583 recognised and CE marked as a programmable safety device.

ACF2-A Durability; IP65 protection as per IEC60529 with 23-pin AMPseal I/O connector means its impervious to most oils, solvents, degreasers and other chemicals regularly encountered by industrial vehicles.

Highly flexible multi-function I/O and comprehensive CAN master capabilities means this low-cost, super capable controller is capable of acting as “CAN interpreter”, allowing different CAN protocols from a variety of devices to “talk” to each other easily on the same CAN network; this means engineers can work with their components of choice every time, eradicating the need for expensive and time-consuming modifications from a variety of manufacturers.

This same CAN master capability means the controller easily connects with typical battery management systems that come with lithium battery packs that are becoming increasingly popular due to their high energy/slow discharge/low maintenance functions.  Used together with Curtis’ very low-cost  3140 CANopen gauge, specifically designed for the Class III market, provides OEMs with a very low-cost, easy-to-read flexible display option with out-of-the-box integration capabilities.  This small, function-rich gauge also offers an optional in-built heater, so that it can reliably display operating information for vehicles used in freezers or other cold environments.

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The Curtis Model 1269E provides energy efficient control of asynchronous AC induction motors performing on-vehicle traction drive duties. It offers vehicle developers a highly cost-effective combination of power, performance and functionality.

Intended for electric and hybrid vehicles using 72 to 108V nominal system voltage for high power circuits, and a 12V chassis-grounded system for low-power control circuits. Software upgrade allows use with surface permanent magnet synchronous motors. 

For more information call Curtis India on +91 20-6792 0800 or Email us at IndiaSupport@curtisinst.com or read the datasheet here.

The new Curtis Model 1220E brushed DC permanent magnet motor controller for electric power steering and steer-by-wire systems fully meets EN1175 1:1998+A1: 2010 standards. This controller is exclusively designed for Curtis Vehicle Control Language (VCL) enabled AC-traction controllers. The steering motor functions as an actuator to change the angle of the wheels thereby changing travel direction. Model 1220E interprets the steering command input and wheel position feedback, to steer the vehicle. Intended applications are class-3 material handling vehicles such as pallet trucks, stackers and similar industrial vehicles.

The controller features absolute and relative position control modes. Model 1220 e has 20 kHz Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) switching frequency to ensure silent operation. Advanced PWM techniques produce low motor harmonics, low torque ripple, and minimized heating losses, resulting in high efficiency. Powerful features include configurable homing methods, center offset, and end-stop protection. Model 1220e, with CANopen system communication, operates with 24V and 36/48V nominal supply voltage and 60A 1-minute current rating. Hour meter and diagnostic log functions are integrated. The Curtis 840 Spyglass can be connected to show traction and steering information such as BDI, hour meter, fault, traction speed, and steered wheel angle. Model 1220 e is designed for maximum safety with dual redundant configuration of all safety relevant parts. Fault output can be used to turn off traction controller’s main contactor and EM Brake. The new controller provides Separate input paths to each micro for all input and feedback signals. Following error check ensures the wheel position tracks the steering command.

Model 1220e meets or complies with relevant US and international regulations:

• EMC: Designed to the requirements of EN12895:2015.
• EN1175- 1:1998+A1:2010.
• UL recognized per UL583.
• Designed to the EN13849 standard achieving a PL=d, Category 3 for all Safety Functions.
• Electronics sealed to IPX4.

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Curtis AC Motor Controllers drive surface and internal PMAC and Induction Motors, from just about any manufacturer you choose

…. Kerry Green, Director of European Support Engineering at Curtis Instruments

For many years Curtis have been known for designing extremely reliable and versatile AC motor controllers.

These controllers are periodically updated to meet and exceed European Safety requirements and the E and SE Series models are now capable of running Synchronous and Asynchronous AC motors.  Their advanced vector control technology ensures that efficiency is optimised under all load conditions and temperatures.

Let’s look at the motor types, as this can be confusing.

Induction motors are Asynchronous.  This means that the rotating core of the motor, the rotor, runs faster or slower than the rotating AC magnetic field.  The rotating magnetic field induces current into the rotor and sets up the opposing magnetic field. The AC induction motor is extremely robust as its solid metal rotor has no electro-mechanical brush gear.  Fewer components and ease of manufacturing means lower cost.  That and the fact that they’re virtually indestructible, makes the induction motor a popular choice.  It’s so reliable that Tesla chose it for the original model S and it’s used on over 90% of industrial trucks.   But of course there’s always a trade-off, and with induction that’s a lower efficiency (up to base speed) and an increased size and weight.

Permanent magnet AC motors are Synchronous in that the rotating core of the motor turns at the same speed as the rotating magnetic field. The rotor has magnets either on the surface of the rotor or embedded into the rotor.  These are known as Surface PMAC or Internal PMAC and both have different characteristics.  PMAC are highly efficient at base speed and are effective electric generators too.  Being smaller and lighter than induction makes them good for a variety of applications like AGV design or robotics.

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