Almost all electrical automation technology components require a voltage supply with dc 24 V. As more components are no longer mounted in the control cabinet but directly in the field, the importance of their voltage supply is also increasing. ifm has introduced new power supplies that meet IP67 protection rating and can thus be placed in the field to provide the voltage directly where it is needed.
Over the past couple of years there has been significant growth in automation solutions that function without a control cabinet. The advantages are obvious: components, such as IO-Link master modules from ifm, can be installed locally, directly on the machine or plant. However, if the power supplies for the dc 24 V voltage supply are located in the control cabinet, problems with voltage drops, due to long cable lengths, may occur. To prevent this, ifm has developed intelligent power supplies that can provide the required voltage directly on site. The power supplies meet the high IP67 protection rating and can thus be mounted together with other components on the machine or plant. Integrated electronic circuit breakers in the power supplies protect the 24 V voltage supply from overvoltage and short circuits.
An IO-Link interface renders the new power supplies intelligent. It can be used, for example, to set the output voltages and nominal currents of the individual circuits. Up-to-date values for voltages and currents of the individual circuits, input voltage, operating hours, internal temperature, and other data can be read out via IO-Link; this provides the user with comprehensive diagnostic options. If one of the circuit breakers trips, for example, the cause of the fault can be identified and eliminated quickly via IO-Link, and the circuit breakers can be reset.
The power supplies are available in two versions with three-phase or single-phase voltage supply on the input side. The three-phase device has four output circuits with the option to set the maximum current to up to 12 A. The single-phase device has two output circuits with up to 4 A each. The nominal power ratings are 500 W and 300 W respectively. Together with the new intelligent power supplies, ifm also offers a comprehensive portfolio of cables, splitters, connectors and sockets for both the input side and the output side. On the input side, three- or five-pole plugs with 7/8" are used; on the output side, proven M12 connection technology with A- or L-coded plug connections is used. This presents a complete voltage supply package for applications in automation without control cabinets.
For more information visit: www.ifm.com