Industrial Engineer · phase 10 of 16 · noun

Output Frequency

Electrical frequency commanded by the drive and applied to the motor.

The Explain card

Plain English: Output frequency is the frequency the drive is actually applying to the motor right now. It is the commanded speed after ramps, limits and skip bands have had their say.
Example: The reference asks for 60 hertz. The drive shows 60 on the keypad once the acceleration ramp finishes, and shows 42 while it is still climbing.
Why it matters: Reference and output are different numbers, and the gap between them explains most of what an operator calls the drive ignoring the setpoint. The output is also what sets synchronous speed, so it is the number to trust when checking motor rpm.
Hook: What the motor is being told at this instant.

How the word is built, where it came from, and what it sits beside in memory.

In a sentence

During commissioning, the technician raises Output Frequency from 10 Hz to 60 Hz while monitoring motor current.

Why these words

output English out plus put marks the delivered side of the named quantity
frequency Latin frequentia, repeated occurrence names the quantity being specified

Where it came from

Origin: an English technical compound joining output with frequency, from Latin frequentia
Entered the language: 20th century
What changed: Frequency moved from abundance and repeated occurrence to rate of repetition, while output became a standard modifier for quantities supplied by equipment.

How it is spelled

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Broken into chunks

What it sits beside

Same subject

Same shape

drive output quantities

frequency terms

Phase 10: VFD Electrical and Motor Fundamentals

The physics under the parameters: slip, torque, flux, and the relationship between frequency and voltage that every drive is really controlling.