IP 66-rated cabinet dome protects industrial WLAN and mobile communication components

Feeding the USB port for wireless applications out of the control cabinet with optimum protection

With the new CU8210-M001 cabinet dome, the USB port of an Industrial PC can be fed out of the control cabinet and still be well protected. In this way, reliable and powerful wireless connections to the control computer can be established without having to use attenuation-prone antenna cables. When combined with the appropriate CU8210-D00x USB 2.0 sticks from Beckhoff that are available for WLAN or 4G mobile communication, the cabinet domes support efficient and globally usable wireless solutions for PC-based control technology.

The cabinet dome is designed to house industrial WLAN and mobile communication components and complies with IP 66 protection rating in the installed state. The components inside the housing dome, such as the USB 2.0 sticks for wireless communication, are completely protected against physical contact, dust, spray water and water jets. The cabinet dome can therefore be mounted both in the panel of the control cabinet but also directly on the machine or on top of control cabinets. The material, which is suitable for radio applications, is characterized by high stability and impact resistance and thus offers a high level of protection against deliberate and accidental damage. Locking the dome in place from the inside of a control cabinet provides additional security, ensuring it cannot be removed from the outside. The cabinet dome, which measures 54 x 100 x 54 mm, has a USB 2.0 socket type A and is designed for operating temperatures from -40 to +60 °C. Increasing the dome placement options for the Industrial PC and the respective application, different versions offer the choice of USB cables in lengths of 1, 3 or 5 m. Beckhoff offers several WLAN and 4G/3G/2G USB sticks for wireless communication.

USB 2.0 sticks for WLAN

The WLAN sticks from the CU8210-D001 series provide a high-performance wireless client and enable encrypted data exchange via WEP and WPA/WPA2 (TKIP/AES). The WLAN sticks are compatible with all earlier and current WLAN standards and support 20, 40 and 80 MHz transmission bandwidths. The maximum data transfer rate is 72.2 Mbit/s (20 MHz), 150 Mbit/s (40 MHz) or 433.3 Mbit/s (80 MHz). The WLAN USB 2.0 stick is available in two versions:

for North America (FCC)
for Europe as well as Australia, China, Israel, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Russia, South Africa and Taiwan

USB 2.0 sticks for 4G/3G/2G

The 4G USB sticks from the CU8210-D004 series with GSM/UMTS/LTE modem can dial into a mobile communication network via a common SIM card. Industrial PCs that require a wireless connection over longer distances can thus be retrofitted to address those needs. LTE as well as the 2G, 3G and 4G bands are supported. The maximum data rate is 150 Mbit/s with LTE DL or 50 Mbit/s with UL. Three versions are available: