Automation and Control Guides Page 6: 198 technical guides for choosing Automation and Control products: selection criteria, standards, common mistakes and frequently asked questions.
Control Push Button Spare Parts: Types and Selection Criteria — Control push button accessories and spares are the contact blocks, LED blocks, heads, fixing collars and labels of Ø22 mm push buttons, selector switches and pilot lights. What Is a Cylindrical Photoelectric Sensor? Types and Selection Criteria — A cylindrical photoelectric sensor is a light-based sensor with a threaded M12, M18 or M30 round housing that is fixed in a hole or bracket with nuts and detects objects without contact. What Is a Control Box? Types and Selection Criteria — A control box is a fixed or pendant housing that carries control devices such as push buttons, selector switches and pilot lights at the work point, apart from the panel. What Is a Digital Temperature Controller? Types and Selection Criteria — A digital temperature controller is an electronic thermostat that reads a temperature probe and drives a heater or cooler through a relay, SSR or analogue output according to the setpoint. What Is a Standard Control Box? Types and Selection Criteria — A standard control box is a local control station fixed to a machine frame, wall or post that carries push buttons, selector switches and pilot lights. What Is an Industrial Relay? Types and Selection Criteria — An industrial relay is a mostly electromechanical relay that plugs into a socket or mounts on DIN rail inside a panel and switches its change-over (CO) contacts when its coil is energised. What Is Industrial Communication? Device Types and Selection Criteria — Industrial communication devices are the switches, gateways, AS-i modules, modems and converters that let PLCs, HMIs, meters and sensors exchange data with each other and with SCADA systems. What Is a Rectangular Photoelectric Sensor? Types and Selection Criteria — A rectangular photoelectric sensor is a box-shaped photoelectric sensor screwed onto a flat surface that detects objects when its light is interrupted or reflected. What Is an Appliance Switch? Types and Selection Criteria — An appliance switch is a switch fitted into the body or panel door of a heater, fan, luminaire or small machine to open and close the circuit by hand or change position. What Is a Crane Control Box? Types and Selection Criteria — A crane control box (pendant) is a hanging control box from which the operator, watching the load, gives direction commands from the floor to an overhead crane, monorail or hoist. Relay Socket Accessories: Clips, Coil Modules, Jumpers and SSR Heat Sinks — A relay socket is the DIN rail base that a plug-in relay fits into and the wires connect to; clips, labels, coil protection modules, jumper bars and SSR heat sinks are its accessories. What Is an Industrial Panel Computer? Types and Selection Criteria — An industrial panel computer is an industrial PC that combines a touch screen and computer in one housing and mounts in a panel door or machine to run SCADA and monitoring software. What Is a Panel-Mount Multimeter? Types and Selection Criteria — A panel-mount multimeter is a device fitted to the panel door or a DIN rail that shows voltage, current and frequency on one display, replacing a separate voltmeter and ammeter. What Is a Stepper Motor System? Motor, Drive and Transformer Selection — A stepper motor system is an open-loop motion system of a stepper motor, drive and power supply that turns pulse commands into step-by-step rotation. What Is a Motion Controller? Types and Selection Criteria — A motion controller is a control device that commands servo and stepper drives over a communication network to manage the position and speed of several axes in sync. What Are SSR Accessories? Choosing Heat Sinks and Rail Brackets — SSR accessories are the heat sinks that release a solid state relay's heat and the brackets that mount the relay on a DIN rail. What Are Liquid Level Control Accessories? Choosing Electrodes, Float Switches and Sockets — Liquid level control accessories are electrodes that sense the level in tanks and wells, float switches that switch with their own contact, and sockets for plug-in level relays. What Is an Analog Temperature Controller? Types and Selection Criteria — An analog temperature controller is a panel-mount thermostat in which the temperature is set with a front knob and the relay output switches according to the probe reading. What Is a Fiber Optic Sensor? Types and Selection Criteria — A fiber optic sensor is a two-part photoelectric sensor that carries light to the sensing point through a thin fiber cable and evaluates the returned light in a separate amplifier. What Is a Transmitter? Difference from a Sensor, Types and Selection — A transmitter converts a value measured by a sensor, such as temperature or humidity, into a standard signal like 4-20 mA and sends it to a remote PLC, indicator or controller. What Is an Hour Meter? Types and Selection Criteria — An hour meter (elapsed time meter) is a counter that adds up and displays running time in hours while the machine or circuit it is connected to is energised; it is used for maintenance planning. What Is a Frequency Meter? Types and Selection Criteria — A frequency meter is a panel-mount measuring instrument that measures and displays the frequency of the AC line it is connected to, in hertz (Hz). What Is a Foot Pedal? Types and Selection Criteria — A foot pedal (foot switch) is a control switch that gives a press, press brake or welding machine a start or stop command by foot while the hands hold the workpiece. What Is a Push Button Control Box? Types and Selection Criteria — A push button control box is a fixed control station supplied with its push buttons and contact blocks factory-fitted, ready to use once the cable is connected.