E-T-A launches circuit breaker for terminal blocks

Chicago, IL—To help reduce equipment downtime, E-T-A Circuit Breakers launched Jan. 9 a new circuit breaker designed to plug into industry-standard terminal blocks.

By Control Engineering Staff January 10, 2003

Chicago, IL— To help reduce equipment downtime, E-T-A Circuit Breakers equip-ment.

Designed for voltage up to 250 V ac or 65 V dc, the new circuit breaker is available in current ratings ranging from 0.1 A to 10 A. Unlike fuses, which are time-consuming to replace and often unreliable, the 1180 circuit breaker can be reset immediately after a fault condition. 1180 also eliminates the possibility that a blown fuse will be replaced with a new fuse of incorrect rating, which could leave equipment vulnerable to over-current damage.

Because it’s only 8 mm wide, 1180 provides enhanced protection without consuming valuable panel space. It also replaces fuses used in popular terminal block systems made by Phoenix Contact, Wago, Entrelec, Weidmuller, and any other system that accepts fuses with the SAE J1284 footprint.

Similar to a thermal circuit breaker, 1180 avoids nuisance tripping during harmless short-term surges, such as in-rush current associated with motor startup. Consequently, a fuse can be replaced by an 1180 of lower current rating, which increases the level of overload protection for devices that control factory equipment, such as assembly lines, robots, heaters and machine presses. The circuit breaker also protects against long-term, low-value current overloads, which some fuses may not do.

E-T-A adds that 1180 has several other advantages over the glass fuses presently used in many terminal blocks:

During field replacement, a fuse must be removed, visually inspected, and replaced with a new fuse drawn from inventory. By contrast, 1180 has a push-button actuator that clearly indi-cates the tripped position, and enables fast, easy, manual reset.

Fuses degrade with age, eventually leading to failure, even under normal conditions. Time has virtually no effect on circuit breakers.

To assure reliable operation, every 1180 is performance tested before shipping, which helps protect critical equipment. Fuses can’t be tested prior to installation.

Unlike fuses, 1180 can also be used as an on/off switch to provide safe shutdown during equipment maintenance. It is hot-swappable, while fuses are not.

In addition, 1180 may be bought with a matching, DIN-rail mountable terminal block, E-T-A’s X-222 23301. This block accommodates 1180 in an 8-mm wide package. It has a universal foot for mounting on NS 32 or NS 35 DIN-rails.

Also, an LED version of 1180 is available that provides remote visual indication of breaker trip status. A special 10-pole, 34 A-rated bus is avail-able for connecting a common supply to several terminal blocks.

In the past, engineers have been reluctant to specify circuit breakers for terminal block applications because of the comparatively low cost of fuses. However, 1180 is roughly one-fifth the cost of a typical DIN-rail circuit breaker. Volume prices are $7. The optional X-222 23301 terminal block is volume priced at about $3.

Control Engineering Daily News DeskJim Montague, news editorjmontague@reedbusiness.com