Johannes Hübner Giessen presents its intelligent electronic rotary cam limit switch

A particularly striking feature of mechanical rotary cam limit switches used in heavy industry is the high level of manual maintenance they require. That leads to long plant standstill times and increased costs for the companies. In response Johannes Hübner Giessen is now introducing onto the market the new ERC 40, an intelligent electronic rotary cam limit switch with as many as 15 relay outputs. This makes it possible to dispense with mechanical rotary cam limit switches – and implement additional, useful functions at the same time. It makes a huge contribution to operating plant economically, because amongst other positive aspects it automates, simplifies and reduces the expensive maintenance tasks required to date.

Mechanical position switches such as gearing and spindle limit switches or rather rotary cam limit switches are installed in heavy industrial plant across the globe (for example in crane systems, mining, bulk material handling). They represent well-established technology; however, they do not fulfil today's safety requirements - and they require a lot of expensive maintenance.

The time and cost involved to set the switching points of mechanical rotary cam limit switches is enormous as it entails manually turning cam disks, which under given circumstances can be difficult to access depending on the place of installation. The procedure is not a one-off affair following the initial installation of the devices, but needs to be repeated again and again during regular maintenance tasks, for example, when replacing ropes in hoisting equipment. The work involved to set them up and production standstill that entails results in considerable costs over the lifetime of the devices.

The new ERC 40 electronic rotary cam limit switch from Johannes Hübner Giessen reduces these costs significantly and – facilitates useful additional functions at the same time. For example, rapid availability following initial installation is a distinguishing feature of the ERC 40; this is because the system does not require time-consuming work to setup individual cam disks. All in all the ERC 40 requires only very little maintenance.

One reason for that is the configuration software included in the scope of supply; this makes configuration simple prior to or, alternatively, following installation. For instance, it is possible to copy position switching points directly from the application using a simple drag-and-drop operation.
And it is quick and easy to replace a device, if that should become necessary. The parameters previously saved as a data record are simply imported into the new device via the configuration software. The system is easy to calibrate via the preset input following installation or plant repairs – without having to invest a great deal of time.

To meet respective application requirements it is optionally possible to supply the ERC 40 with 3, 6, 9, 12 or a maximum of 15 relay outputs. Each relay output can represent a cam with two switching points. Thanks to 28 bit resolution and adjustable switching hysteresis the device offers an extremely high level of switching accuracy. The switch test function integrated in the configuration software makes it easy to test if the relays are functioning properly, which reduces the time and costs for inspections to a minimum as a result.

In addition to switching outputs supplementary real-time data is also required to control and monitor many applications. To this end the user is able make use of the present position data supplied by the optionally available 4-20 mA output.

In the event there are any deviations an active error message, which can be transmitted to the programmable logic controller (PLC) via a digital output, ensures the highest level of control and information. Alternatively, it is possible to configure one of the relay outputs to facilitate direct integration in emergency-stop or plant stop functions. The reset input facilitates simple error reset. It is possible to monitor the actual operating status by evaluating the status and error outputs as well as by visually checking the LEDs.

All told, high economic efficiency and low overall operating costs are compelling features of the new ERC 40. In addition to the attractive initial cost of procurement simple installation, time-saving start-up as well as low standstill and calibration times mean there are hardly any additional costs – and it offers a longer service life to boot.

The ERC 40 delivers the highest levels of availability even under the harshest of conditions. That is assured by the rugged IP66 rated housing as well as high resistance to shock and vibration.
Johannes Hübner Giessen optionally offers the safety-certified series U-ONE-SAFETY-Compact (USC 42) with two-channel system architecture (category 3) for applications that place special demands on functional safety up to SIL 2 (Safety Integrity Level 2) and PL d (Performance Level d).

Johannes Hübner Giessen operates in the following fields of industry: steel and rolling mills, mining, container cranes, railway technology, hydroelectric power plants, wind turbine generators and power systems. The company is widely recognized as the industry leader in the fields of measurement, encoder and drive technologies. In more than 80 years Johannes Hübner Giessen has installed several thousand applications in heavy industry. The specialist offers an all-round complete service from determining on-site installation conditions through to installing the complete encoder systems. The company presently employs 100 staff. www.huebner-giessen.com

Johannes Hübner Fabrik elektrischer
Maschinen GmbH
Thomas Brandenburger
Head of Product Management
Siemensstr. 7
D-35394 Giessen
Tel.: +49 641 / 79 69-0
Fax: +49 641 / 73 64 5
thomas.brandenburger@huebner-giessen.com

This release was published on openPR.