Extended environmental conditions

standard I/O components for increased requirements

Products for extended environmental conditions

Beckhoff offers a wide range of products for harsh operating conditions such as extreme temperatures or high mechanical stresses due to shock and vibration. The increased requirements can already be met with the standard I/O components, i.e. at no additional cost. This means that the extremely diverse standard portfolio of EtherCAT Terminals, EtherCAT Box modules, EtherCAT plug-in modules and Bus Terminals is also available for use under adverse environmental conditions.

Many industries and areas of application place higher demands on the load capacity of automation components due to difficult environmental conditions. Examples of this are presses, wind turbines and all applications in which shock and vibration stresses or strong heating can occur in normal processes. Such demanding applications require on the one hand a correspondingly robust I/O system, but on the other the same flexibility that a standard portfolio offers with its variety of components and signals. In addition, the advantages of the high-performance EtherCAT communication can be optimally used with the extended properties of the standard portfolio, even under extreme environmental conditions.

The I/O components are already designed for the extended temperature range from -25...+60 °C in the standard version. The storage temperature of these components has also been extended to -40...+85 °C. The I/O system can thus withstand higher temperature loads and exhibits increased weather resistance.

The exact definition of the operating conditions in the extended temperature range, installation regulations that may deviate from the standard and, if applicable, deviating technical data can be found in the corresponding documentation. The extension of the temperature range is marked accordingly on the data sheet and is also available for EtherCAT and Bus Terminals for the variant with pluggable wiring level (ESxxxx, KSxxxx).

	Extended range	Standard range
Operating temperature	-25…+60 °C	0…+55 °C
Storage temperature	-40…+85 °C	-25…+85 °C

Further areas of application for the I/O system are made possible by the increased mechanical load capacity due to the design for the extended shock and vibration range. IP20 components are vibration-resistant up to 5 g (according to EN 60068-2-6) and shock-resistant up to 25 g (continuous shock for 6 ms according to EN 60068-2-27). Due to their fully potted design, the EtherCAT Box modules in IP67 can even withstand continuous shocks of up to 35 g, 11 ms. The box modules from the ER series in the die-cast zinc housing offer additional protection against mechanical loads.

As a result, the Beckhoff standard I/O products are not only characterized by increased temperature and weather resistance, but also by their high mechanical load capacity. New uses and applications with requirements that go beyond the standard application can be realized.

	Extended range	Standard range
Vibration resistance	5 g (IP20/IP67)	1 g
Shock resistance	25 g, 6 ms (IP20), 35 g, 6 ms (IP67)	15 g, 11 ms

In addition to the extended temperature range (-25…+60 °C) and the mechanical load, Beckhoff also offers its I/O products with coated electronic components on request. The products are functionally compatible with the standard products. The coating provides the electronic modules of the IP20 I/O components with improved protection against harmful environmental influences.