VFD Cross-Reference

How It Works

1. Pick how you enter the source drive

   Use "By model code" if you have a drive in hand: paste the catalog or type code off the rating label and let the tool auto-detect the brand, or pick the brand from the list. Use "By parameters" when there is no code or you are speccing from scratch.

2. Enter the source

   In code mode the tool resolves the brand, family, motor kW/HP, output current, voltage range, and frame from the published ratings. In parameter mode you set phase, supply voltage, motor power (kW or HP), the load duty, and optionally the motor full-load amps for the current cross-check.

3. Choose the load duty

   Normal duty covers variable-torque loads like fans and centrifugal pumps. Heavy duty covers constant-torque loads like conveyors and crushers. If you are not sure, leave it on Normal duty, which is the headline rating every brand publishes.

4. Read the per-brand cards

   Each of the other three brands gets a card with the closest matching drive and a couple of options to look at. Every option shows the model, motor kW/HP, output current (and whether it is the Heavy-Duty figure), voltage range, and frame, with a badge for same size, larger, or smaller, and the exact kW and amp differences from your source.

5. Read the flags

   Flags call out the things to verify: a voltage range that does not include your supply, a current below your source (confirm against the motor full-load amps), a brand that only publishes the Normal-Duty rating for a Heavy-Duty request, a size with no current data, or a legacy line. A "No catalog match" card means that brand has nothing in your phase and voltage class in our data; the tool does not invent a number.

6. Export or share

   PDF export produces a report with the source, every brand's options, the differences, and the verification notes. CSV and a shareable link carry the same context for documentation. None of these is an order or installation authorization.

Built For

• A plant that runs both ABB and Allen-Bradley pulling the ACS580 that covers the same motor as a failed PowerFlex 525, fast, without hand-cross-referencing two catalogs
• A maintenance tech holding a dead Yaskawa GA800 finding the equivalent Danfoss FC302 and ABB ACS880 before sourcing through whichever distributor is closest
• A panel builder checking which brands offer a 480V 3-phase drive for an 11 kW motor and comparing the output current each one rates it at
• A controls engineer cross-shopping a constant-torque conveyor drive across all four brands on the Heavy-Duty rating, not the inflated Normal-Duty number
• An estimator pricing a like-for-like spare from a second vendor and pulling the comparison into a PDF for the purchase request
• A specifier catching that a candidate is rated 380 to 415 V only and does not cover the plant 480 V supply before it gets ordered
• A reliability planner standardizing a mixed-brand drive population by mapping each existing model to its equivalent in the preferred brand

Features & Capabilities

One Electrical Envelope, Four Brands

Every drive is normalized to the same envelope: phase, voltage class with its rated range, Normal-Duty motor kW and HP, output current, and duty. That common envelope is what makes an ABB, PowerFlex, Yaskawa, and Danfoss drive directly comparable instead of three catalogs and a spreadsheet.

Two Ways In: Code or Parameters

Paste a model or catalog number and the tool resolves the brand and envelope from the same data the brand decoders use, or enter phase, voltage, motor power, duty, and optional current when there is no code. Either path produces the same cross-reference.

Power Leads, Current Cross-Checks

Matching ranks on motor power because that is how a drive is sized and how a tech thinks about it, then cross-checks output current as the hard limit. Differences in kW, HP, and amps are shown as numbers, not hidden, so you judge the fit instead of trusting a single verdict.

Duty-Aware

Pick Normal or Heavy duty and the current cross-check follows it. ABB and Yaskawa publish a separate Heavy-Duty current and the tool uses it; PowerFlex and Danfoss publish the continuous rating only, so a Heavy-Duty request against those two is flagged to verify the catalog Heavy-Duty size, which is smaller than the continuous figure.

Voltage Class Done Right

Each drive carries its real rated voltage range, so a 380 to 415 V unit is not treated as covering 480 V. A candidate whose range does not include your supply is flagged, and a drive in a different voltage class is left out. Voltage-correct drives always rank above near-miss ones.

Never Fabricates a Model

When a brand has no drive in your phase and voltage class, the card says "No catalog match in our data" and stops. The tool never forces a nearest model that would mislead, and it never invents a catalog number.

Traceable Data

The ratings come from the same published ABB, Rockwell, Yaskawa, and Danfoss documentation behind the ToolGrit brand decoders, and each figure keeps its source citation. Known data gaps (such as Danfoss continuous-only ratings and partial HVAC-drive currents) are handled honestly rather than papered over.

Comparison

References

• ABB ACS580, ACS880, ACS380, ACS480, ACS180, and ACS355 drive catalogs and hardware manuals (output current, ND/HD ratings, motor kW/HP, frame, voltage class)
• Rockwell Automation PowerFlex 520-Series Technical Data 520-TD001 and 750-Series Technical Data 750-TD001 (output current and Normal-Duty motor HP/kW by voltage class)
• Yaskawa GA500, GA800, A1000, and V1000 drive technical references (Heavy-Duty and Normal-Duty output current, motor HP/kW, voltage class)
• Danfoss VLT AutomationDrive FC 301/FC 302, AQUA Drive FC 202, HVAC Drive FC 102, and Micro Drive FC 51 design guides (continuous output current and motor power by voltage class T2 to T7)
• NEMA MG 1 and motor full-load current tables for the motor-side full-load amps used in the current cross-check

Frequently Asked Questions