Warehouse, distribution, and e-commerce fulfillment operations are being asked to increase throughput quickly, often without expanding footprint or taking on additional downtime risk. At the same time, conveyor automation is shifting toward distributed architectures, with drives mounted directly on the conveyor or machine to reduce cabinet complexity and speed machine builds.

To help meet those demands, Schneider Electric has the Altivar Machine ATV350, a high-protection on-machine variable frequency drive (VFD) designed to mount directly on conveyor and material handling equipment, eliminating the need for a protective enclosure. By mounting the ATV350 on the machine, users can reduce footprint and installation costs, simplify motor cable and control wiring, and speed up hardware replacement.

With IP66 / UL Type 4X protection and software-selectable multi‑protocol Ethernet, the ATV350 is purpose-built for large-scale conveyor deployments in space-constrained warehouse and distribution environments.

“Warehouse and distribution operators face growing demands to increase throughput rapidly without expanding footprint or compromising uptime,” said Greg Magdanz, Vice President OEM Sales, Industrial Automation at Schneider Electric. “The Altivar ATV350 on-machine drive is engineered for complex conveyor systems, helping operators move from design to operation faster with the multi-protocol connectivity, integrated safety, and plug-and-play simplicity they need to scale with confidence.”

Why on-machine drives are becoming the standard in conveyor automation

As logistics operations modernize, teams are looking for ways to simplify electrical design, shorten installation timelines, and improve serviceability. Distributed, on-machine drives support that shift by minimizing reliance on centralized control cabinets and reducing long motor cable runs, helping create cleaner, more repeatable conveyor designs.

The ATV350 is designed for these real-world conveyor environments, combining a compact, rugged construction with dust-tight, washdown-ready protection (IP66 / UL Type 4X) to support uptime in demanding areas.

Built to integrate into your control architecture without lock-in

Conveyor and material handling systems often span different standards across sites, OEMs, and modernization projects. ATV350 is designed to fit into those realities with software-selectable industrial Ethernet communications – including EtherNet/IP, PROFINET, EtherCAT, and Modbus TCP – to reduce integration effort and help avoid network lock-in.

To streamline distributed designs further, ATV350 supports daisy-chain networking to reduce cabling and simplify network layouts.

Faster installation, simpler commissioning, and quicker recovery

In high-volume operations, small delays in commissioning or maintenance can quickly become costly. The ATV350 is designed for ease of use across its lifecycle with plug-and-play hardware to help prevent wiring mistakes, plus an HMI that gives operators local control.

For commissioning and service accessibility, the drive supports USB‑C commissioning and can be configured with free drive manager software to lower total cost and reduce setup friction. Over time, built-in monitoring and diagnostics, maintenance-free operation, optional regenerative braking to recapture energy, and automatic configuration can accelerate drive replacement and minimize line downtime.

The ATV350 also supports a distributed electrical approach with a daisy-chain power architecture, including incoming and outgoing line connections that can allow up to 40A to feed multiple drives from a single branch circuit.

Safety and flexibility designed for modern material handling

Safety and standardization are key considerations in conveyor system design. The ATV350 includes integrated safety (STO / CIP Safety) to reduce external components and help accelerate restart after safety events. For architectures that benefit from decentralizing control, an optional IO-Link Master (up to 8 control I/O) can reduce external hardware and simplify system architecture.

ATV350 also supports a range of applications with motor flexibility including asynchronous and synchronous motors, and open/closed loop control helping standardize on one drive platform across more conveyor and material handling use cases.

Availability

The Altivar ATV350 is currently available in the United States through Schneider Electric and authorized distributors. For more information, visit the Altivar machine product page or connect with a Schneider Electric expert for a free technical consultation.