Current transformers or CTs are indispensable anywhere high currents are measured and processed. These instrument transformers effectively diminish high-voltage current flows for a convenient way to securely evaluate and monitor real electrical current through an ac transmission wire relying on a conventional ammeter. CTs perform this task by generating alternating current in a secondary winding…
Optocoupler modules in interface electronics
Industrial electronics operate in electrically noisy and mechanically challenging environments. The problem is that automation, control, and instrumentation components rely on accurate signals sans electrical interference or distortion to properly operate. So optocoupler modules are often employed by engineers as signal-protecting intermediaries between signal sources as well as power sources and industrial controls and other…
Signal conditioner basics
A top challenge in industrial electronics is the integration of sensing and feedback — in part because their disparate outputs require clean and safe transmission to the installation’s PLC or other primary controller. For these connections, system integrators rely on signal conditioners and isolation amplifiers. While both devices serve as an intermediary point in power…
Integrating uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs)
An uninterruptible power supply or UPS is an electrical device that provides supplementary emergency power to the connected load when there’s a loss in the main power supply. It supplies power via a backup battery until the main power is restored. UPSs install between that regular power source and the load, with the supplied power…
Industrial components served by power supplies
DIN rail-mounted industrial power supplies feed dc power to industrial components for industrial control, assembly, testing, and monitoring tasks — as well as other automation equipment that uses dc power. These power supplies are usually found in electrical cabinets and control panels connected to elaborate power and communication networks involving myriad components. Outside control cabinets,…