Interface goes for the air

April 2000 Fieldbus & Industrial Networking

It is widely accepted that the use of ASi provides a considerable cost reduction in electrical installations by saving many parallel cables. A similar saving potential is now also possible for pneumatic air tubes. This is achieved by the newly developed AirBox from IFM Electronic.

The basis of this AirBox is the standardised electromechanical interface (EMS) of the AS-Interface. The AirBox offers the integration of electronics and pneumatics into one compact module. It features two digital inputs for the connection of two or three-wire sensors, as well as two pilot-operated 3/2 way seat valves. The pressure range is between 200 and 800 kPa, the air volume is 400 l/min at 500 to 600 kPa pressure difference.

Mounting and installation is as usual, via the ASi flat cable module with penetration technology, or as an option, via round cable lower parts. No additional current supply is necessary. The compressed air is supplied, and connection to the cylinder is made via a standard 8 mm diameter plastic tube. The procedure is simple, all that is required is to cut the tube to the requested length and plug it into the Legris coupling.

The pneumatic actuators can be adjusted irrespective of electrical commissioning and the valves can be directly operated manually via two mechanical pushbuttons. Since mounting is made directly on the AirBox, the length of the tube connections is reduced to a minimum. This results in lower air volumes as well as shorter response times of the pneumatic drives. The conventional external valves including wiring, mounting and connection of a tube are eliminated. The AirBox provides new AS-Interface solutions for the connection of pneumatic drives into a system.

Shorrock Automation

(012) 346 1594

[email protected]

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