// CONTROL TECHNOLOGY
New products
Pull-Wire Switches with Additional Contacts and High Protection Class
Machinery and plant manufacturers who need a solid, reliable emergency pull-wire, e. g. for cramped mounting areas and small machines, are well-advised to opt for the ZS 71. This device offers not only a very compact enclosure of just 105 mm, but also a high degree of reliability and safety.
The standard version includes the monitoring of wire pulls and breaks: if the wire, which may extend to 20 m, should break or be dismantled, the switch will automatically assume the safe latched status. The emergency-stop function is unlatched by means of a push button.
Repeater for Innovative Radio Switches
Self-sufficient switchgear devices developed by steute are now applied in many areas of control technology and building automation. The switching signal is transmitted via radio and the necessary energy is generated from the ambient surroundings according to the »energy harvesting« principle – e. g. via a miniaturised solar cell with an integrated energy supply or via an electrodynamic energy generator converting the plunger movement into electrical energy. This steute product range is continually expanding. Self-sufficient position, foot, pull-wire and door handle switches are all currently available. The extraordinarily fail-safe signal achieves a transmission range of 300 m outdoors and 30 m in closed rooms – better than that provided by comparable radio standards.
Without Obstacles: Wireless Foot Switches
Everyone who uses foot switches knows the problem: the cable gets in your way and can constitute a dangerous obstacle – or the cable gets stuck, meaning that the switch cannot be positioned as you would like it to.
With the new KF F foot switch these problems become a thing of the past. Radio transmission rendering cables superfluous and even the power supply is wireless, provided by a durable lithium-ion cell.
In Protection Class IP 66 and Corrosion-Resistant Design
Offshore technology and the offshore industry make extremely high demands on switchgear. The devices have to meet the highest available requirements and achieve the highest protection class to ensure that no splashing water can seep inside the enclosure. Moreover, maximum corrosion protection has to be guaranteed. On offshore platforms and tankships, explosion protection plays a very important role.
steute series ES/EM 95 and series EEx 95 position switches with separate wiring compartments are well suited to these extreme conditions. They are designed to meet protection class IP 66 and are also saltwater-proof, with solid enclosures made of glass fibre reinforced thermoplastic and screws made of stainless steel.
safety sensor with high protection for hygiene-sensitive areas
Conventional safety switchgear is very »hydrophobic« - unlike steute’s new BZ 16 IP 69K: this is a safety sensor which actually looks forward to being cleaned. It was designed specifically for such applications. The basic unit, the BZ 16, is very frequently implemented on machines in the foodstuffs industry: the non-contact principles of this device are an excellent alternative to conventional electro-mechanical safety switchgear because it does without mechanical actuators and actuating head - often with slots and grooves in which impurities can collect.
There are some areas of food production, e.g. in meat and fish processing, which have even stricter requirements and specifications for hygiene: these machines require regular cleaning using high pressure cleaners to satisfy stringent hygiene levels and standards.
Energy self-sufficient door handle switches
One of the basic principles when designing operating elements for machines is to place the field of view and operating elements as close together as possible. However, as machines get bigger and bigger, and the guard doors also get bigger – possibly sliding doors – it is often difficult to apply this principle. It frequently involves use of external operating elements, e.g. enclosures with support arm systems, while each of the doors’ operating elements need cables for power and data interchange, with concomitant wear and tear.
