Chromalox survey, products, point to bright future for temperature controls, systems

Users of temperature and power control systems increasingly plan to add built-in diagnostic and predictive maintenance functions and remote PC access to their systems, according to a recent market trend study by Chromalox, manufacturer of industrial heat and control systems.

By Control Engineering Staff March 17, 2005

Temperature controllers from Chromalox use an 18-bit A/D converter for high-resolution measurement.

Users of temperature and power control systems increasingly plan to add built-in diagnostic and predictive maintenance functions and remote PC access to their systems, according to a recent market trend study by Chromalox , manufacturer of industrial heat and control systems. The study says that respondents expect to enhance their control systems with predictive maintenance and equipment diagnostic functions to help them manage information related to their process or application.

Although only 5% of those surveyed currently have temperature controls systems that include these capabilities, a full 75% said they expect to add them within 2 years. The data reflect a strong demand for more intelligent temperature control systems, says Chromalox. Nearly 30% currently use some form of remote monitoring equipment technology and another 20% plan to add it in 2005, says the survey.

Model CCP OEM custom control platform lets an OEM quickly configure a custom temperature controller.

Study results reflect a number of positive economic trends. Of those responding, 45% say they have an increased budget for 2005; 40% plan to increase staff. More than three-quarters of those surveyed expect production volumes to increase in 2005, with 28% forecasting a significant increase. Production increases, says Chromalox, are being driven by an increased demand for products (48%) and an expanded product line (28%).The survey was distributed to 6,000 users in a wide range of process and manufacturing industries in February 2005. Most of the 150 respondents were in engineering management or engineering technical staff positions.

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Recently introduced industrial control products from Chromalox include two new temperature controllers, ETR-8300 and ETR-4300 . Models join the 1/16 DIN 9300 and 1/32 DIN 3400 in the Super Controller Series. Both units feature digital Modbus communications, multiple error protection modes, remote set-point input, event input capabilities, dual input delta-T (differential) control, and heater alarm/current monitoring. The

Also available is Model CCP OEM custom control platform that lets an OEM quickly configure a custom temperature controller (up to 4 loops) complete with timers to meet specific application needs. Intent of the platform is to simplify the development of custom controls and reduce lead times. The platform uses a set of pre-designed modules for input, output, and control. It is especially suited for food equipment and process heating applications.

—Jeanine Katzel, senior editor, Control Engineering, jkatzel@reedbusiness.com