Specifying effective components to meet the needs of industrial & building automation

The way that industrial locations are run is currently going through a step-change, with greater use of automation being a top priority for many companies. Thanks to this, production output may be boosted and efficiency levels increased. Embracing automation technology is not just of value from a commercial perspective though. It is now being applied to our living and working environments too. By making buildings smarter, their occupants can benefit from greater comfort, safety and security, while also lowering utility bills and reducing their carbon footprint.

Increasing reliance on automation calls for the specifying of appropriate electronics. The component parts being utilised for these purposes will need to have all the relevant attributes if they are to prove effective. Let’s now look at some of the key areas where automation is becoming more prevalent, and what the component sourcing implications are.
 

Industrial Networking

With the equipment used in manufacturing facilities and processing plants being upgraded or replaced to bring it in line with Industry 4.0 objectives, access to faster data communication is needed. Through this, data on the performance parameters of the facility can be monitored in real time - so that rapid responsiveness to any prospective situation is assured.

Figure 1: Harwin’s Archer Kontrol board-to-board connectors

The connectors chosen for this purpose must support multi-Gbps data rates. It is also vital that these connectors are robust enough to deal with the harsh application settings they are located in over a prolonged period. Any risk of failure occurring could be incredibly problematic, leading to production ceasing while equipment is repaired and faulty components replaced.

Within an industrial environment, it is likely components will be subject to acute shocks and vibrations, due to the continual movements of the heavy duty machinery present there. Exposure to extreme temperature, electromagnetic interference (EMI) and radio frequency interference (RFI) could also be concerns. In addition, components sourced for such work must be compact, because of the limited available space in the equipment designs they will be placed into.

As blind mating may need to be done, connector pairs should have features that prevent them from being damaged because of mating errors. Retention mechanisms are likewise needed, to stop cabling from being pulled out. In some situations, hardware will have been sacrificed to protect the rest of the system - so a mezzanine approach will be employed, to minimise the impact.

The Harwin Archer Kontrol (figure 1, above) series has seen a lot of traction in modern industrial system designs where space is limited - particularly in drives and controls, plus data logging equipment. These surface mount board-to-board connectors have a 1.27mm pitch. They support 3Gbps data rates, in line with Ethernet networking requirements. The dual beam contact design means that interconnection is maintained even when exposed to 20G vibrations. Currents of up to 1.2A can be carried by each contact. These connectors have a 500 mating cycle endurance figure. Inclusion of polarisation mechanisms assists with blind mating, while shrouded housings protect against potential contact damage.

Figure 2: The Archer .8 series from Harwin

With a 0.8mm pitch and a 5mm stack height, the Archer .8 (figure 2, right) mezzanine connectors are optimised for even higher density deployments, such as industrial edge computing and server infrastructure. Capable of supporting ultra-high 24Gbps data rates, they can be used for attaching daughterboards to motherboards. These double row layout connectors support large pin counts up to 120. Their contacts each have a gold finish to give them greater mechanical durability. An operational temperature range of -40°C to 125°C is covered.

Internet of Things (IIoT)

As IIoT sensor modules will generally be deployed in remote places, in many cases it is totally impractical to carry out maintenance work on them after installation has been completed. This makes ongoing reliability essential, so components capable of supporting this must be selected. The scale of IIoT deployments means that the costs involved need to be low too, so production work must be as lean and efficient as possible.

Harwin’s Sycamore Contacts (figure 3, below) present engineers with low-profile, cost-effective board-mounted sockets. They enable sensors and other devices to be easily fitted to PCBs or replaced without soldering work being needed. This means that sensitive devices can be added to the design post-soldering therefore removing the risk of them being damaged by the heat from reflow processes. Among the places where they are being deployed are in environment monitoring modules and industrial alarm systems. As these sockets are each made of a single piece of metal, they are much simpler to fit than alternative solutions. This means that manual attachment is no longer necessary, but automated procedures can be used instead. Sycamore Contacts feature a rugged gold-plated beryllium copper construction and have a 6A current rating. Their low profile means that they only extend 0.43mm (maximum) above the board surface.

Figure 3: The Harwin Sycamore Contacts supplied by Avnet Abacus

Another important Harwin product here is the company’s shielding cans (figure 4, below). These are very effective at protecting the non-transmitting elements within IIoT sensor modules from the RFI that will be caused when such modules are making wireless transmissions. They can also mitigate the effects of EMI emanating from neighbouring equipment.

The push-clip arrangement used on these shielding cans offers added convenience, as they can be easily attached or detached as required. This is also helpful in reducing production costs, by avoiding the need for additional soldering, as it is only the clips that need to be soldered on, this is done at the reflow stage. It increases production yields too - since the risk of units being damaged is far less, because the extra soldering work that would have otherwise been required has been eliminated from the process. Finally, it is straightforward for the can to be removed if any of the components inside need to be replaced. This will be much more difficult to achieve in situations where shielding has been directly soldered to the board. 
 

Figure 4: Harwin’s EMI/RFI shielding cans

Smarter Homes & Workplaces

Specifying interconnects that can be depended on in the long term is clearly important in safety-critical building automation applications such as fire alarms, security sensors. Space constraints will once again be a concern, so high density solutions should be utilised especially as the current trend is for hardware to be directly integrated into door and window modules. Often equipment will be implemented in mezzanine or daughterboard arrangements, as this makes the swapping of hardware easier to do so that upgrades can be made or items replaced if they become faulty. If connectors are not reliable then the building’s operational expenses will ramp up, as maintenance call-outs will be needed on a more frequent basis.

The highly-flexible Spring Contacts (figure 5, below) that Harwin has developed are particularly useful in home and building automation, enabling sub-boards to be attached to the main board. Control panel and monitoring equipment designs are just some of the places benefitting from their use. These units provide a simple way of establishing an electrical connection with some models handling up to 14A currents, as well as taking care of grounding, without needing excessive space as only a small mating surface is required. Different profile height options can be chosen from, going all the way down to a working height of just 0.9mm.

Figure 5: Spring Contacts from Harwin’s

A Spring Contact arrangement works well in scenarios where blind mating will need to be done. It is also very effective for antenna connection. These components' surface mount format allows them to be attached using automated equipment which helps to keep OEMs’ production costs down. Furthermore, the latest versions are multidirectional. This means that they are suitable for both horizontal and vertical configurations, providing added design flexibility.
 
Alongside these, Harwin’s Sycamore Contacts have a lot of appeal in a smart home/building context. They can be employed for device mounting in gas detection systems, intruder/fire alarms and metering equipment. There are numerous opportunities to use space-saving Archer 1.27mm pitch connectors and the EMI/RFI shielding cans in such applications too.

Conclusion

Smart factories require high-reliability industrial-grade interconnect solutions so as to safeguard against costly downtime events occurring. At the same time, these components need to be compact enough to meet increasing space constraints. Mezzanine connectors will be vital in upgrading legacy equipment, as well as allowing future adaptation of current systems. Also ensuring effective shielding cannot be overlooked. Smart home and building designs have very high expectations too, so corners cannot be cut when it comes to component selection.

As we have seen, Harwin has developed a range of connector solutions for home, building and industrial automation systems. Meanwhile, our team of FAEs here at Avnet Abacus works closely with Harwin to provide the highest level of engineering support for your designs. If you have a question about this article, or you’d like to discuss your design in more detail, click the Ask an Expert button to get in touch with the team in your local language.  

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