Weidmuller: 24-V power supplies, redundancy, electronic fuses

Weidmuller recently introduced a line of 24-V dc power supplies to drive higher-power automation control panels, according to Francisco M. Tacoa, marketing manager for Weidmuller's Electronics product line.

By Control Engineering Staff December 2, 2004

Weidmuller’s 24-V dc power supplies drive higher-power automation control panels.

Weidmuller recently introduced a line of 24-V dc power supplies to drive higher-power automation control panels, according to Francisco M. Tacoa, marketing manager for Weidmuller’s Electronics product line. Tacoa told Control Engineering that power supply redundancy can increase control panel reliability and help satisfy demand for less downtime. The new power supplies include one single-phase input, 20 Amp 24 V output, and three with three-phase input, 10 Amp 20 Amp, and 40 Amp, 24 V output.

Tacoa said, “There’s more need for higher-power, regulated dc power supplies,” especially in continuous and batch processing, and in discrete production manufacturing in North America. He explained that customers need higher-power solutions that are reliable, space-efficient, easy to install, use and maintain, and able to handle signal transients commonly found in industrial processes. Features include adjustable output voltage, 24-28 V dc, extensive burn-in tests at 100% load, LED status indicator, DIN-rail mounting, overload protection with electronic current limiting, and ability to connect in parallel.

The CP DM 10 (10 Amp module) and CP DM 20 (20 Amp module) Diode modules have been designed to enhance the ConnectPower series of power supplies by enabling parallel connectivity of two or more power supplies for either power redundancy purposes, commonly found in process control applications, or to deliver increased power to the load, such as heavy manufacturing automation applications.

In other developments, Weidmuller announced Wave Guard electronic fuses to monitor current flow and act as a circuit breaker, preventing a power-supply shutdown in case of a short circuit. “You might have the best power supplies available, but if you don’t protect your power supplies, you subject your whole control panel to a shutdown situation,” Tacoa said. Electronic fuses also enable problem resolution more quickly with LED indicators, ability to wire them to the control room, and remote reset capability, he noted. The rapid-response solid-state switch detects when current reaches the set maximum permissible value, then switches off within microseconds.

Tacoa made the comments at Pack Expo International 2004.

—Mark T. Hoske, editor-in-chief, Control Engineering, MHoske@cfemedia.com


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