With the introduction of the SmartWire-DT interface module for its range of PKE electronic motor protection circuit breakers, Eaton’s Electrical Sector now is offering a full range of networked motor starter solutions for control panels, which use only standard components from the xStart family. Benefits, according to Eaton, include the elimination of the need for system builders and end users to stock different ranges of devices for traditionally wired and networked panels.
Eaton’s SmartWire-DT system has been designed to make the benefits of the fieldbus available inside the control panel, eliminating all conventional control wiring in the panel, with connections instead made by plug-in daisy-chain cables. Not only does this reduce the time needed to wire the panel, it also makes incorporating future modifications faster and easier, the company says. Standard contactors and protection devices in the xStart range are made ready for SmartWire-DT connectivity by adding an interface module in the same way that an auxiliary contact block is fitted.
The new interface modules for PKE motor protection circuit breakers are designed to give users of SmartWire-DT access to versatile electronic motor protection. Eaton says each of the units in the PKE family covers a wide range of motor currents, thereby minimizing the number of variants that have to be stocked, and the units also offer tripping classes that can be set from Class 5 to Class 20, which mean that optimum protection can be provided for all types of drive irrespective of the startup conditions.
