Highly compact with integrated barrier
In the ELX terminals, Beckhoff combines highly compact remote I/O modules with isolation barriers for the direct connection of intrinsically safe field devices in a single housing. The result: extremely narrow EtherCAT Terminals for the direct connection of intrinsically safe sensors and actuators. With their high resolution and accuracy, the ELX terminals guarantee the high Beckhoff measurement quality that is familiar from outside the potentially explosive atmosphere. Another advantage arises from the highly compact design of the terminals: up to eight intrinsically safe inputs are available in the 12 mm housing. The absence of intermediate external barriers leads to a significant reduction in the space requirement in the control cabinet with the associated cost advantages. With certification for ATEX, IECEx and NEC/CEC, the ELX terminals meet all industry-specific guidelines for explosion protection and can be used in almost all markets worldwide, which reduce users' dependence on different suppliers. The wide range of applications is also supported by the enormous signal diversity of the Beckhoff I/O portfolio: a suitable I/O module is available for every application. The development of customer-specific variants is also possible through complete product development in-house.
Thanks to the ELX terminals, process technology users can realize extremely compact and cost-effective control architectures, and the outstanding diagnostic function of EtherCAT helps here to minimize plant downtimes.
Explanation of the ELX system
Structure
An ELX terminal segment always starts with the ELX9560 power feed terminal, which ensures the isolation distance of 50 mm to non-intrinsically safe circuits due to its design and supplies the downstream ELX signal terminals via the power contacts. Any ELX signal terminals can be connected on the right side of the ELX9560 in a free combination. The ELX9012 bus end cap is used to terminate an ELX terminal segment and to cover the E-bus and power contacts.
Extension
The combination of ELX9410 and the ELX9560 power feed terminal is always required for each additional supply within an ELX terminal segment. This combination makes it possible to supply additional ELX signal terminals. This allows the ELX terminal segment to be extended, for example in order to take advantage of the entire control cabinet width. Due to the front fin of the ELX9410, the required minimum distance of 50 mm is maintained to the ELX signal terminals connected on the left side.
Signal mix
With the principle of PC-based control technology, Beckhoff enables the combination of a wide variety of I/O components in one system. EtherCAT Terminals for measurement tasks, functional safety or explosion protection can be freely combined and integrated into a holistic control system. The user thus has an efficient complete solution at his disposal for all requirements on the application side.
Communication/interoperability
The Beckhoff components support various communication protocols such as EtherCAT, PROFINET, PROFIBUS, Modbus, EtherNet/IP, OPC UA and more, like the new communication standard Ethernet-APL. These standardized interfaces enable the integration of Beckhoff hardware into all industrial process control systems. The connection can be made via appropriate fieldbus couplers as well as embedded controllers from the CX series.
Redundancy
The EK1110 EtherCAT extension can be connected directly at the end of the ELX terminal segment. This allows the EtherCAT segment to be continued via an Ethernet cable for the creation of a ring topology. With the ring redundancy, the communication of the other devices is not affected in the event of failure of a single EtherCAT device, which can lead to a reduction in plant or machine downtimes.
More about the process industry
- Reset all filter values
- Results: