RS Offers a Wide Range of Essential Conveyor System Solutions From ABB
ABB’s extensive range of optimized solutions helps manufacturers in virtually every market build safe, reliable, energy-efficient, and automated conveyor systems, achieve quicker pick, pack, and dispatch times, and produce higher volumes.
RS, a trading brand of RS Group plc (LSE: RS1), a global provider of industrial product and service solutions, offers a wide range of essential conveyor system solutions from ABB.
Conveyor systems are vital elements of the material handling systems used to move component parts and products around manufacturing facilities. They are especially useful for conveying heavy or bulky materials, which results in reduced forklift traffic as well as product and pallet damage. They also help manufacturers in virtually every market achieve quicker pick, pack, and dispatch times and produce higher volumes.
There are two main types of conveyor system solutions: power circuit and control circuit solutions. Key characteristics of power and control circuit solutions ideal for new build and retrofit applications include safety, reliability, energy efficiency, and automation capabilities.
ABB designs and develops an array of conveyor system solutions that deliver these and other benefits. Its range of conveyor control circuit solutions available at RS includes safety solutions, pilot devices, power supplies, monitoring relays, interface relays, timers, and contactors.
ABB’s Jokab Safety line offers an extensive range of innovative machine safety solutions engineered to provide reliable protection for people and equipment. Solutions suitable for use in conveyor systems and available at RS include:
- Compact, powerful, and user-friendly safety controllers based on functional safety standards and designed to start and stop equipment in response to signals from safety input devices.
- Safety relays that implement safety functions and initiate a safe, reliable response to detection zone faults, or at least reduce the risk to an acceptable level.
- Safety sensors, switches, and locks used to control the gates and hatches around hazardous machinery and monitor machine positioning.
- Optical safety devices, like light curtains and light grids, that automatically stop machinery when their beams become obstructed.
- A variety of emergency stops that enable anyone to quickly and easily stop machinery in the event of an equipment breakdown or safety hazard.
- And compact pilot devices that are easy to install, engineered to provide high-reliability human-machine interfaces, and ruggedly withstand harsh environments.
Power supplies convert AC to DC and reduce the voltage to match the load and are vital for energy management and automation technologies. In conveyor systems, they often power safety controllers. ABB’s rugged CP Series delivers proven reliability in harsh environments and a compact form factor.
Monitoring relays — including thermistor, temperature, three-phase, and voltage monitoring relays — provide essential overload, short circuit, and under- and over-voltage protection for conveyor motors and help ensure that equipment and processes are running smoothly. ABB offers a wide range of monitoring relays engineered to provide reliable, economical protection and support maximum uptime.
Interface relays provide reliable voltage conversion and signal switching, circuit multiplication, and electrical isolation for sensitive control circuit devices, like PLCs. They are used in combination with standard and logical sockets and are available in a variety of different coil voltages. ABB offers a complete range of interface relays, including pluggable relays for easy interchangeability, relays with gold-plated contacts for sensitive applications, and complete versions consisting of a relay, socket, holder, market, and function module. ABB’s interface relays are also environmentally friendly, cadmium-free, lead-free, and RoHS compliant.
Time Relays enable time-delayed actuation and are especially useful in applications where functions need to be delayed or loads need to be maintained for a predetermined period. ABB offers a full range of time relays that includes pluggable relays for easy interchangeability and solid-state relays engineered for an extended service life. The range is also globally compatible, easy to install, and built for high-reliability performance in extreme conditions.
Contactors are specialized relays that are used to make or break electrical circuits in electric motor and lighting applications. In electric motor applications like conveyor systems, they’re used to protect PLCs from high-voltage electric surges by establishing an indirect connection between the motor and PLC. There are many different sizes and types of contactors, and each has its own set of features, capabilities, and suitable applications. ABB offers a comprehensive selection ideally suited for simple to extreme application environments. Its compact AF three-pole contactors, for instance, represent a major advancement in motor control and power switching and set a new industry benchmark. They’re globally compatible, which optimizes logistics, and their integrated, electronically controlled coil consumes up to 80% less energy than competing solutions. They also have built-in surge protection and push-in spring terminals for extremely fast, easy, and reliable wiring, and they’re engineered to over-bridge voltage drops and sags to maximize uptime.
Other essential ABB conveyor solutions in the RS product portfolio include motor starters and controls, disconnect switches, safety switches, protective devices, relays, and lighting and indication.
For more information about ABB’s of power and control circuit solutions for conveyor systems, please visit their recent RS Expert Advice article, “Keep Your Conveyor Systems up and Running Safely and Efficiently.” For assistance identifying, deploying, and maintaining ABB solutions that are safe, smart, efficient, easy to install, reliable, and sure to keep your conveyor systems running safely and efficiently, please contact your local RS representative at 1.866.433.5722 or reach out to the RS technical support team.
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