Control solutions
ATEX, IECEx enclosures for hazardous areas
Dutch bulk material handling specialist Pneumix Injection Units BV is one of the petrochemical industry's leading suppliers of material handling equipment. The kind of hazardous environments that are common in this industry make protective enclosures essential for any electrical systems in use there. R. STAHL's expertise in this area is the reason that Pneumix has been working with us and our subsidiary Electromach for several years, to equip its own products with CUBEx control boxes protected by flameproof enclosures.
Versatile Ex d system enclosures
Since Pneumix chutes for refinery additives are inevitably situated in areas with explosive gas atmospheres, the manufacturer designs all its equipment for operation in ATEX Zone 1 as standard. Electrical non-Ex equipment is installed in CUBEx enclosures with expert protection provided by R. STAHL. This means that, rather than having to provide individual explosion protection for each of the pieces of equipment and switchgears, less-expensive, standard components can be used. CUBEx enclosures offer a basic level of protection against the ingress of gases, with standard IP54 rated protection that can be increased to IP66 protection if required.
In addition, the enclosures are designed with Ex d (flameproof enclosure) protection, which means that, in the event of a mixture explosion inside, they can withstand the pressure generated by the explosion. Because the exterior remains intact when this happens, it prevents the explosion from spreading to the surrounding atmosphere and propagating. This type of enclosure may need additional cooling; special external cold plates have been developed for this purpose.
R. STAHL's subsidiary Electromach is undertaking the project engineering plus extensive prewiring work for the units in order to simplify and reduce the on-site time of the work involved in wiring at the operating location itself. Operating and display elements can be installed directly in the cover. Inspection windows can also be added in the cover or side walls to provide an unrestricted view of the wiring inside.
The inclusion of up to three mounting levels means that, the installation space can be fully exploited. A special direct feedthrough allows connections to be made between two flameproof chamber enclosures if required, making it incredibly easy to combine multiple CUBEx enclosures however the customer wishes. And because this eliminates the need for connection chamber enclosures for through-connection, incredibly compact control, operating and power distribution systems can be developed.
