Oh the weather outside for once isn’t too frightful and we know your electronic device is crucial, so what do you do if it snows, if it rains or if it’s too bright(ful)?
Don’t fancy reading a blog this morning? Perhaps you’re recovering after England’s heroics in the world cup yesterday? No problem, In that case, you can get to know our handheld printer the THERMOFOX with a Vlog instead.
For more info, get in touch:
Andy Neat – Product Manager – Marking and Installation
Written by Gareth Chamberlain
For the last two weeks, we have been busy. The old technical wall has been demolished and a new wall has been constructed in its place. Why? You might ask. Not only do we update the demonstration wall every so often to show new products, we also thought this time it would be more suited to be more than just a showroom. So we decided to create the Smart Networks wall (cue unveiling music). This allows us to give more of a service towards yourself and the needs of an application.
Written by Mark Lloyd and Andy Maskell
Anything that increases the reliability of your safety circuit has to be a good thing…..
In fact, it is a basic requirement when using safety relays or Safe PLCs that the outputs are protected against overcurrent and overvoltage to prevent dangerous failures.
In the case of a safety relay output, this may be in the form of a welded relay contact for example.
Written by Fraser Cowie
As we move inexorably towards the end of the decade every manufacturer of ‘Smart’ products is focused on making sure their products reflect the needs of the market and Industry 4.0 and Phoenix Contact is no exception.
Written by Nigel Dawbarn
In a couple of weekend’s time, we will exhibit at “Fully Charged Live” at the Silverstone Circuit. An exhibition of energy and transportation technologies, with an, Ask the Expert area and lots of theatre sessions including panel discussions around the subject of Electric Vehicles in the UK. Hosts include Robert Llewellyn, Jonny Smith and Helen Czerski from the YouTube show “Fully Charged”
Written by Mark Lloyd
I have been working with AC UPS systems from a few VA up to a few hundred kilowatts for a number of years now. What that experience has taught me, is that including a UPS in a system design is very often an afterthought. In smaller systems such as a typical ICA panel, where only a few kVA is required, space is often at a premium. Therefore, trying to fit a UPS in post design can be tricky.
What generally happens is that a standard off the shelf, commercial UPS is placed in the bottom of the panel. This firstly does not look very good and secondly is not a very industrial solution.
As we find all too often, not everybody is aware of how vast the Phoenix Contact range of products is. This was a great opportunity for everyone involved in all aspects of engineering to see what we can do and discuss applications and possible solutions. It was a great success and a huge thank you to anyone that had any kind of engagement with the show, you could not beat the buzz of the open days a t the NEC.
Choosing the right solution to optimise production and reduce assembly costs.
It wasn’t so long ago that PCB production was predominantly manual assembly of through-hole components followed by wave soldering and then manual test and inspection. In the mid-nineties I was tasked with introducing surface mount technology (SMT) into fire detection products and worked closely with production to optimise the design and manufacturing processes. Over time we were able to significantly reduce the use of the manual assembly and the wave oven, saving production costs and time consuming maintenance.
Written by Gary Nelson – Senior Product Manager – Device Connections
Will your new design need a component or enclosure that you’d ideally like to be customised in some way?
It can be a conscious trade off you end up making between using components and enclosures that exist in the general marketplace over having something that meets your specific needs. You may be looking for something as simple as a colour change or having characters marked onto the product or perhaps your needs are greater and you wish to have poles removed or holes milled into an enclosure. The more you modify the product the better the chance it has of meeting your exact needs and ensuring that your customers know the best way to handle your design especially where safety critical applications are concerned.
