Power decentralisation made easy

05Mar

The demand for flexible, modular systems is shaping the world of automation, control and machine building. Decentralisation of system components has proven to be an important factor in this growing trend. It speeds up the system planning process, simplifies installation and maintenance, and facilitates future expansion.

For many systems builders and installers, the power supply has been an obstacle on the path to practical decentralisation; in particular, where functions such as selective current distribution, protection and condition monitoring need to be implemented while providing maximum reliability and uptime. This article will explain how it is possible to achieve these requirements with an all-in-one power supply.

Decentralised power supply: The challenge and the solution

Engineers often need to be creative, positioning control cabinets above or below the system or at a distance, sometimes making access difficult for installation and service technicians. An obvious solution is to design a system which can be mounted directly on a machine or the installation. The power supply and other standard components such as electronic fuses, communication terminals, distribution blocks or switches are relocated from a central control cabinet to smaller enclosures in the field. The installation of these components outside of a fully environmentally protected central cabinet means they will require a high IP rating individually to ensure protection against dust and moisture. Protection to class IP54, IP65 or IP67 may be required, depending on the application. The result will be a small, decentralised on-site cabinet for which, in some applications, there may be very little space available on a machine.

Read the full article in the March issue of PBSI