Balluff’s HEARTBEAT Intelligent IP67 Power Supplies for ‘on plant’ installation

Phil Black - PII Editor 23/03/2012

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Rugged DC Power for Industrial Networks

Control System Power Supplies for process plant and equipment are subject to particular demands when it comes to safety, reliability and life expectancy. Any outage results in enormous cost to the operator. Balluff introduces a new, intelligent power supply especially for this market – the HEARTBEAT™.

Most power supplies in the market today give no feedback on their long term health. A faulty or dying power supply can cause maintenance crews hours of precious production time in troubleshooting and repair. The introduction of Balluff’s intelligent power supplies with HEARTBEAT™ technology gives reliable feedback on the real time and long term status of the supply, enabling prediction of the replacement and maintenance cycle.

The power supply features bright optical indicators that provide quick confirmation of the operating status.

The three displays with green, yellow and red LEDs continuously inform the user about the internal operating status. Indicated parameters are “Load Level”, “Stress Level” and “Lifetime”.

The “Load Level” indicates the actual load on the device in real time. If 80% is reached the indicator changes from green to yellow, a red bar appears if the load increases to over 100%.

The “Stress Level” is like the heartbeat of the unit. It is driven by both the electrical and thermal load. If the internal temperature rises or falls as a consequence of changing load and/or varying ambient temperature, the “pulse” of the device is affected.

The “Lifetime” indicator tells the user how much service life remains for the unit. It is based on the total of all loads and is irreversible. When the indicator enters the red zone, the remaining useful life is less than 8 years. This means the unit should be replaced at the next available scheduled maintenance period.

Balluff’s HEARTBEAT™ intelligent IP67 power supplies can operate under continuously high load conditions (power boost 150% for 4 seconds), no power reserves are necessary. Thanks to highly visible LEDs the load, stress level and life expectancy can be seen even from a distance, enabling for the first time condition-based maintenance regimes even for difficult to access units. The power supply only needs to be replaced when it is actually nearing the end of its design lifecycle.

For more information on the Balluff range of products contact our sales office on 0161 282 4700, email: sales@balluff.co.uk, web: www.balluff.co.uk