The electrical control cabinet is a common type of industrial equipment, which is the main part of the electrical automatic control and the main device of the electrical automatic control system. It is considered to be the strongest "brain" at the field level and is essential for the normal and efficient operation of production.
In order to ensure the normal operation of the "brain" equipment, proper monitoring and management of the environment inside the control cabinet itself, proper diagnosis and maintenance management are becoming increasingly important in industrial applications.
In general, only when the environmental conditions are relatively stable, a large number of electrical and electronic components in the control cabinet can work reliably during a long service life. However, on the one hand, electrical control cabinets are faced with temperature challenges due to the increasing number of components and the increasingly compact space in the cabinet. On the other hand, some control cabinets deployed outdoors also face the challenges of temperature and humidity caused by harsh environments.
Condition monitoring to meet challenges
In the design and manufacture of electrical control cabinets, as the structure of equipment enclosures and control cabinets becomes more compact, the heat loss becomes larger and larger, and the problem of temperature monitoring of components inside the enclosures and cabinets gradually becomes more prominent.
Overheating not only causes damage to electrical and electronic equipment, but also causes stress cracks due to temperature fluctuations, causing damage to the parts where different materials of electrical and electronic components are in contact with each other.
Too low ambient temperature or rapid strong cooling will also cause damage to the equipment in the cabinet, especially the control cabinet deployed outdoors. Low temperature and cooling often have a greater impact than overheating, so it is necessary to avoid damage caused by condensate.
In addition to temperature, humidity in the cabinet also needs attention. The air humidity in the working environment of the cabinet also has an important impact on the normal operation of electrical and electronic components. When the water vapor content in the ambient air is too high, or when the temperature drops and there is a possibility of condensation, it will also bring faults to the electrical equipment in the control cabinet.
Balluff's BCM series of multi-function status monitoring sensors can monitor the operating environment and status of the cabinet such as temperature and humidity in real time.
The BCM multi-function status monitoring sensor can simultaneously detect environmental parameters such as contact temperature (measurement range 0...70 °C), relative humidity (measurement range 5...95 %RH). Furthermore, it can analyze and process these data, and then transfer the necessary data to the main system through the IO-Link interface.
The BCM sensor is small in size, easy to integrate with other sensors and the host system, and adopts an all-stainless steel shell to provide at least IP67 protection. It is fully qualified for control cabinet applications in various working environments.
Because of the above characteristics, the control cabinet environmental monitoring data provided by BCM helps to avoid unexpected shutdowns and losses. Once the control cabinet operating environment parameters are abnormal, it can provide immediate pre-alarms and analyze the reasons to prevent unexpected accidents, thereby ensuring control. The electrical components and equipment in the cabinet thus always work stably and reliably.
At the same time, these monitoring data are also necessary factors for the factory to achieve intelligent and flexible production and are the key factors for creating an industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).
Through the Balluff BCM sensor series, important plant assets such as control cabinets can also achieve condition monitoring and maintenance management requirements faster and better.
