Appreciate if anybody could share their experience using MTL and P&F wiring component to implement Fieldbus. FYI, we are in the stage of deciding whether to go for MTL or P&F to cater for Zone 1 requirement. Appreciate if somebody out there can tell us which one is more reliable based on your experience.

 

I would suggest to look at Hawke. We used their Intrinsic Safe Fieldbus system and it was an extremely clean installation. They also have redundant power supplies.

Their system is called Route-Master and you can find it by selecting the 'product' tab at ehawke.com

We installed their system and it was extremely clean installation and very easy to install and troubleshoot. Plus, I believe it was less expensive than all of MTL's equipment. You can install more instruments on one segment with Hawke's system. Another cost saver.

 

For a quick overview of hazardous area (Zone 0, 1, and 2) installation for Fieldbus you may want to check out the below presentation. It includes MTL, P+F, Hawke, Turck, and SMAR etc.:
http://www.fieldbus.org.sg/files/20040422 FF and hazardous area.pdf
based on this article:
http://www.isa.org/Content/ContentG...03/December21/No_lightning_in_these_skies.htm

Both MTL and P+F offer FISCO barriers as do SMAR. While SMAR and P+F only have Exia IIC, MTL also has Exib IIB. Which gas group is your plant? The P+F barrier can be mounted in the field using Exe trunk.

To learn what FISCO etc. is, take a look at chapter 3 of the book "Fieldbuses for Process Control: Engineering, Operation, and Maintenance" (buy online in hardcopy or download immediately in softcopy): http://www.isa.org/fieldbuses

If you can't buy the book now, you can download chapter 1 (overview) for free in softcopy form. It's free, but you must register an account. If your email does not support this hyperlink feature correctly, please copy the entire link and paste it into your Internet browser. Mind the line wrap, make sure to get the complete path all the way to the 4585:
http://www.isa.org/Template.cfm?Sec...=/Ecommerce/ProductDisplay.cfm&ProductID=4585

Jonas Berge
SMAR
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[email protected]
www.smar.com
Learn fieldbus at your own pace: www.isa.org/fieldbuses

 

This is a decision you will have to make and part of the evaluation criteria should include the level of local support you receive as well as the philosophy you wish to use for your implementation. There are a number of good papers on this topic on the Foundation Fieldbus web site http://www.fieldbus.org under the EUC meetings tab.

Ian Verhappen