Phoenix Contact Unveils Latest in Communication and Automation
Phoenix Contact has unveiled its latest products and solutions in industrial communication, connection, and automation for greater efficiency and ease of use among users.
Whether you are an electrical engineer designing automation equipment or an electronics manufacturer, chances are you have heard of or purchased components from Phoenix Contact. Their product line spans from terminal blocks to control systems.
Phoenix Contact showcasing its products and solutions at Hannover Messe. Image used courtesy of Phoenix Contact
Recently, Phoenix Contact was at Germany's Hannover Messe 2023 automation trade show, showcasing new products that have been released or will be released later this year. Below are some of those products.
Industrial Communication
Machines are talking to each other now more than ever, and bringing internet connectivity to automation equipment is becoming a normal request from machine builders. This level of communication requires advanced network switches and gateways, and Phoenix Contact has recently added to its existing line of industrial routers and Ethernet switches.
Phoenix Contact's TC Router 50004T-5G. Image used courtesy of Phoenix Contact
TC 5G Cellular Router
The 5004T-5G is a 5G-enabled router with a fallback to 4G and four ports with NAT and OpenVPN capability. The router comes with four SMA-F Antenna sockets and has SMS along with email transmission functions. The router also includes four digital inputs and two digital outputs.
Phoenix Contact's FL MGuard 4302 Router. Image used courtesy of Phoenix Contact
FL MGuard Routers
Security is crucial when opening up a machine network to public internet channels. Phoenix Contact has released two security routers for securing industrial networks. The MGuard 4302 supports NAT configurations, VPN remote connections for up to 250 tunnels, an SD memory card slot, Gigabit wire speed, and supports X.509v3 certificates. The MGuard 2102 has similar features but only supports two VPN tunnels.
Monitoring Relays
Monitoring electrical systems can help prevent significant downtime to equipment. By using a monitoring relay, control systems or simple light stacks can easily be used to notify operators or maintenance staff—or devices can be shut down automatically to prevent damage to the equipment.
Phoenix Contact's MACX-MR-3V-900-PT monitoring relay. Image used courtesy of Phoenix Contact
MACX-MR Monitoring Relays
Phoenix Contact has released a line of monitoring relays capable of monitoring three-phase or single-phase systems, as well as temperature monitoring of motor windings. The three-phase monitoring relays will monitor overvoltage, undervoltage, window monitoring, phase sequence, phase loss, and neutral monitoring functions. The single-phase relays monitor 24 AC or DC up to 240 V, undervoltage, overvoltage, and a voltage range. Some models come with an OLED digital display, while others offer status LEDs.
Power Supply and Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)
DC power supplies are inside most electrical cabinets for automation equipment. These power supplies are the heart of most control systems. They power the PLC, field I/O, and sensors. If the power supply becomes unreliable, equipment will not function. For this reason, many machine builders are now installing UPS power supplies to prevent downtime due to unreliable power sources. Phoenix Contact has added to their existing line of power supplies and UPS with power supplies that offer advanced features.
Phoenix Contact's TRIO Power with integrated device protection. Image used courtesy of Phoenix Contact
TRIO Power With Integrated Device Protection
Electrical devices need to have protection from electrical overload—typically, this is accomplished using circuit breakers or fuses. The TRIO power supply will soon be offered with integrated circuit protection. The power supply will have multiple channel protection circuits allowing single device protection or branch protection directly out of the power supply.
Phoenix Contact's TRIO UPS. Image used courtesy of Phoenix Contact
TRIO UPS
The TRIO product family will soon offer a UPS option that will also have an integrated power supply. Typically the UPS is a separate device from the power supply, which takes up quite a bit of space within the electrical cabinet. With the new TRIO UPS, the power supply is integrated into one device.
