Author Archives: Andy Loh

Heavycon Evo

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*Sigh*

I believe that many of us have experienced similar problems with plugs and sockets as pictured above, especially while travelling. Due to poor designs, some of our bulky charging equipment for our phones, laptops or cameras may not be able to charge. This creates massive inconvenience for us as we are unable to use our devices when we need them. In times like these, being able to adjust the wall plug orientation would solve the problem.

Surprisingly, such problems also arise in factories and warehouses that usually utilise heavy machinery. However, having such problems with heavy machinery will bring about more inconvenient repercussions such as having to move your machine to another location or adjusting your wall plug so that the socket can be plugged into it. These will bring about higher costs and also more tedious work.

The Phoenix Contact team has thus come up with a solution to overcome these problems.

Our Heavycon Evo is a heavy duty connector which allows the cable gland to be connected vertically or horizontally depending on the site conditions and requirements. The housing offers range from B6 to B24 and cable gland sizes of M20, M25, M32 and M40. Because of how customisable the product is, using it reduces the inventory in stock. Heavycon Evo is particularly useful when it comes to installation of cables in rather tight spaces. This also helps create a more compact setup which saves space. In cases where the wiring and connection points between cables are in obscure and inconvenient positions, the Heavycon Evo allows the user to alter the orientation of the sleeves from horizontal to vertical or vice versa. This feature also allows the wiring to last longer as the wires will not be in positions where they are under high tension.

Besides fulfilling its original purpose, the Heavycon Evo has additional benefits. When told that the Heavycon Evo is made up of plastic, many have the impression that it is not very durable. However, the fact that the Heavycon Evo is made of plastic brings about many benefits. The Heavycon Evo is made of high grade polyamide plastic that has gone through stringent quality checks such as IP and Nema degrees of protection, vibration, temperature shock, shock resistance, roll-over test and the dynamic load special test which verifies that the Heavycon Evo bayonet locking and double latch do not open independently or malfunction even in the case of extremely high static loads. Furthermore, the high grade plastic of Heavycon Evo will drastically lessen the load of machinery as it is significantly lighter than its metal counterpart by up to 50%.

Heavycon Evo enables the multiple connections of data, power and signal in a single housing with up to six difference combinations. We have also implemented our state of the art push-in technology in our inserts to allow easy, fast and secure connections in every application. Lastly, there is a common misunderstanding that plastic sleeves cannot match the applications of metal sleeves. However, this is not true as our Heavycon Evo is compatible with all existing setups of up to 24 positions with existing metal setups.

In conclusion, Heavycon Evo is compact to be installed in tight positions, cost effective, light weight and compatible. Hence, it will be your number one choice when buying heavy duty connectors.

Interested to find out more? Feel free to contact us at marketing@phoenixcontact.com.sg!

Cable Entry System – CES

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Have you ever left your earphones in your pocket and when you wanted to use them again, they emerge as a tangled ball of mess? Annoying, isn’t it?

Well, the wiring of current and conventional electrical panels brings about a similar problem. The above picture shows its set up and at a glance, three words pop up in my mind: Complex; Costly; Time-consuming.

So why is this so?

Firstly, in the current system, multiple holes of different sizes need to be drilled in accordance with the cable sizes. Imagine the hassle having to drill ten holes of different diameter just to see messy wires intertwined together.

Next, a common occurrence to such wiring systems is the need to add additional cables. If you are lucky, there will be enough space on the flange plate to drill the extra holes. However, if the space is insufficient, or if you need larger holes for new cables, you would most likely have to replace the entire electrical panel and redo the entire wiring system from scratch. Not only does this add on to the hassle, it also adds on to labour and cost.

Lastly, conventional wiring systems require more time to rectify problems in communication. This is due to the difficulty in identifying specific cables especially when they are bundled together. The troubleshooting process thus leads to longer downtime which means financial losses for the company.

The Solution

Phoenix Contact has thus come up with a solution to eliminate this problem. Our Cable Entry System (CES) comes with specific features to tackle the hassle of the conventional system.

Firstly, only one or two holes would have to be cut to enable installation of up to ten cables in the system, greatly reducing the set up time. Furthermore, the CES can cater to different cable diameters ranging from 2mm-24mm. All these can be easily installed by mounting the sleeves of varying sizes on to the robust metal reinforced frame.

Next, additional cables can be installed by removing the blind sleeves from the extra cable holes provided by the CES. In the event that the existing cable configuration has to be amended, the CES allows for easy reassembly just by replacing the sleeves with those of different cable diameters. This eliminates the trouble of cutting out new holes on the flange plate.

Lastly, the CES allows cables to be easily identified as the rectangular frame organizes the sleeves holding the cables in an orderly manner that is easy on the eyes.

Besides tackling the inconveniences of the conventional electrical panel wiring, the CES offers protection class of IP54, making it suitable for harsh environment conditions.

If your current electrical wiring system reminds you of your ball of tangled earphones, it‘s about time you switch to Phoenix Contact’s Cable Entry System. Our CES will be the solution to increasing your productivity and cost saving to your electrical panels wiring.

Interested to find out more? Contact us at marketing@phoenixcontact.com.sg!

UPS IQ – Smart Power for Intelligent Transport System

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The Land Transport Authority (LTA) recently awarded a tender for the Intelligent Transport System (ITS) to one of their system integrator to setup effective system for monitoring of traffic situation at junctions. The system, which is part of the Smart Nation Initiative Program, will automatically alert the operator of the traffic volume so that remedial actions can be taken promptly.

Traffic Camera

Intelligent Transport System (ITS)

The Intelligent Transport System (ITS) is at the heart of what keeps us safe on the roads and tunnels system in our city. In land-scarce Singapore, ITS’s sophisticated traffic and control system will maximize road network efficiency capacity as well as monitor and manage the traffic flow.

The ITS infrastructure spans over 164km of expressways and road tunnel system, including Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway(KPE), Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE), Central Expressway (CTE), Fort Canning Tunnel (FCT) and Woodsville Tunnel (WVT).

Our partner in Singapore has worked wholeheartedly with this system integrator, from design to testing and finally, to the implementation with our UPS-IQ.

Solution

Together with our partner, we set up the actual UPS and communication system to show to the system integrator. This was to provide the proof of concept to simulate the system. A demonstration of the UPSconfigure software allowed the UPS system to be integrated seamlessly into the innovative application from the special system by the system integrator. The system will be manned by LTA.

UPS IQ

UPS IQ

Key Features

  1.  High MTBF – Higher MTBF (>600,000 hours) as compared to most of our usual competitors ensures more reliabilty.
  2. Modbus Enabled – This has enabled the system to be communicated within the same network. It allows the system to be monitored from the main control room without additional hardware which translates into lesser points of failure and eventually to cost savings.
  3. Monitoring software (UPS Config) – The UPSconfigure feature allows the innovative application of the system integrator proprietary software to be integrated seamlessly into their application. This speeds up the deployment process and allows the system integrator to make more efficient time, labour and tools deployment.

If you would like to find out more about our UPS-IQ, check out our website or just leave us your contact at marketing@phoenixcontact.com.sg and I will get in touch with you.

A Wireless Solution – Easy Expansion Without the Hassle.

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Radioline – A Wireless Solution

What do you do when you need to collect more information from the field than you are currently able to? Traditionally, you would excavate then lay cables from the transmitter to the field device. A lot of hassle if your expansion was for just 4 signals. We may have just the wireless solution for you.

Recently, a water reclamation plant in the western part of Singapore had an existing system that required an expansion of 4 additional analog signal points. The distance between the field and the control room was only about 200 meters. However, to add just 4 signal from the field, proper wiring had to be done, including excavation and cable laying.

Our team, with the assistance of our system integrator met up with the customer to understand their needs. After determining the scope of work, a wireless solution was proposed. Instead of the labour-intensive cable solution, the team proposed the Phoenix Contact Trusted WirelessTM Radioline RAD-2400-IFS and the I/O extension module – RAD-AI4-IFS and RAD-AO4-IFS as an alternative.

Installing a wireless transmitter at both the field and the control room, our engineer then connected the analog signals to the IO cards, enabling the signal to be transmitted back securely. All this, from start to finish, we achieved in under an hour.

Trusted WirelessTM

Trusted WirelessTM 2.0 is a wireless technology specifically developed for industrial use. It provides rugged and reliable communications for your applications. In a 2.4 GHz band, Trusted WirelessTM 2.0 uses a Frequency Hopping Spread Specturm (FHSS) with up to 440 possible individual frequencies. Thus reducing the effects of interference signals.

radioline_solution

We not only saved our customer a significant amount of time and manpower with the Radioline Wireless solution, future expansions would only require the addition of IO modules.

If you are currently facing any issues and would like us to offer you our solutions, click here and send us the details and I will get back to you.

To find out more about Phoenix Contact’s Trusted WirelessTM Radioline, click here.

The Importance of Good Demos

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Would you buy something that you cannot see, touch or feel?

For instance, if you wanted to buy a new mobile phone today, and you walked into the mobile shop and after describing your needs the salesman told you, “Oh we have just got the solution for you! This phone solves all your problems and have the latest features and technology. However we do not have the sample for  you to see, so you will have to make payment first before we give you the actual phone.”

Would you still buy the phone?

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