GE6VAF323001B-A21 HP 230 V Adjustable Frequency AC Drive — Sinusoidal PWM Torque Vector, 0–400 Hz, Single- or Three-Phase Input, Convection Cooled

Product Description

What this part is

A GE AF-300B adjustable frequency AC drive (variable frequency drive / inverter) rated 1 HP in the 230 V class. It takes a fixed-frequency AC supply and synthesises a variable-voltage, variable-frequency three-phase output to control the speed and torque of a standard induction motor.

Decoding the order code

6VAF3: GE’s AF-300 adjustable frequency drive family prefix. The 300 in AF-300B is the product family name, not a horsepower rating — GE’s AF-300 line ran through the AF-300B, AF-300C, AF-300E, AF-300 Mini, Micro-Saver and AF-300P series.

23: the 230 V voltage class. The 460 V class units in the same family carry a different pair here.

001: the horsepower rating, 1 HP. This is the field that gives the size of the drive.

B: the AF-300B series designation within the AF-300 family.

-A2: configuration or option suffix, retained in the title and cross-references exactly as marked. GE/Emerson drive support or a repair house holding AF-300 documentation can resolve it from the nameplate.

Published AF-300B family specifications

Control system: Sinusoidal PWM, torque vector control.

Rated output voltage: Three-phase, three-wire, 80–240 V AC, 230 V class.

Rated input: 200–240 V AC, 50/60 Hz, single phase for the 1/4 to 3 HP units; or 200–230 V AC, 50/60 Hz, three phase for 1/4 to 5 HP.

Output frequency range: 0–400 Hz, with a 0.2–15 Hz start frequency and a 15–400 Hz base frequency.

Frequency resolution, digital keypad: 0.01 Hz up to 99.99 Hz, 0.1 Hz at 100 Hz and above.

Frequency resolution, analogue: 0.02 Hz step at a 60 Hz maximum frequency.

Setting accuracy, analogue: ±0.2 % of maximum frequency (59–95 °F).

Setting accuracy, digital keypad: ±0.01 % of maximum frequency (14–122 °F).

Cooling: Convection, for the 1/4 to 1 HP units including this one.

These are the AF-300B family standard specifications as published in the GE AF-300 manual, and they apply across the 230 V class ratings.

What the single-phase input option really buys you

This is the most commercially useful line in the whole specification and it is easy to skim past. In the 230 V class the 1/4 to 3 HP AF-300B units accept a single-phase 200–240 V input and produce a three-phase output. That means a 1 HP three-phase motor can be run from an ordinary single-phase supply — no rotary phase converter, no utility three-phase service. For a small machine in a workshop, a pump in an outbuilding or a retrofit where three-phase is unavailable at the panel, that capability is the entire reason to buy this drive rather than a modern equivalent that may not offer it at this rating.

The caveat worth stating: a drive fed single-phase draws its full power through two of the three input rectifier legs, so the DC bus ripple is higher and the input current per phase is higher than the three-phase case. Derating and input fusing follow the single-phase column of the manual, not the three-phase one.

Convection cooling

At 1 HP this unit is convection cooled. There is no cooling fan, which removes the single most common wear-out item on a small drive and is a genuine reliability advantage on a machine that runs unattended. All the heat leaves by natural airflow, so the drive is a vertical panel mount with clearance above and below. A convection-cooled drive in a still, hot enclosure will trip on overtemperature, and the fault looks intermittent because it depends on ambient.

Quantity and configuration

One drive. The motor, any remote keypad or keypad extension cable, a dynamic braking resistor or braking unit, input line reactor or filter, output reactor, conduit or NEMA enclosure kit and the programming manual are each separate items. A small AF-300B has limited braking capability without an external resistor, so a high-inertia flywheel or an overhauling load such as a hoist or a downhill conveyor calls for the braking hardware as well.

Interchange and obsolescence guidance

Search forms include 6VAF323001B-A2, 6VAF323001B, 6VAF323001, 6VAF-323001-B-A2, 6VAF 323001 B A2 and AF-300B 1HP 230V. Related family members: the AF-300C, AF-300E, AF-300 Mini, AF-300 Micro-Saver and AF-300P series, and the 460 V class equivalents at the same horsepower.

The AF-300 line was a GE product built in partnership with Fuji Electric, which is why a Japanese country-of-origin marking on a GE-badged drive is correct and not a data error. GE’s drives business subsequently passed through GE Industrial Solutions to ABB, and the automation side to Emerson; Fuji Electric’s own FRENIC series is the closest current-production lineage. Third-party repair for the AF-300B is widely available, and a working original is often the pragmatic choice on a machine whose control wiring and parameter set are built around this drive’s terminal designations.