Control and automation cabinets

Automatic control cabinets: purpose, types and features

Automatic control cabinets (AC) are a type of electrical panel equipment for installing devices and instruments for automating technological processes. They are free-standing metal cabinets in which electrical energy is received and distributed.

Purpose

• Automation of diagnostic and control processes for industrial equipment in accordance with previously defined modes.
• Implementation of manual, semi-automatic and fully automatic modes.
• Protection of electrical networks, equipment and devices from short circuits, surge voltages, and voltage drops.
• Control of certain parameters of production processes – temperature, humidity, etc.
• Display of current and set values ​​of automation devices.
• Triggering of emergency alarms, shutdowns, collection and storage of telemetry, emergency situations.

The functionality of automation cabinets directly depends on the technical parameters of the cabinet. Standard starting control equipment installed in the SHA includes controllers, UPS, filters, relays, starters, circuit breakers according to the specification.

Scope of application

Depending on their purpose, automation cabinets are used for:

• Ventilation systems. Automatic start, stop, control of forced supply and exhaust ventilation in houses, shops, warehouses, industrial facilities.
• Ready-made solutions for safe and reliable operation of boiler equipment - boilers, pumps, automatic protection systems.
• Air conditioning. Cabinets for automation and control of air conditioning systems in industrial and commercial facilities.

Automatic control cabinets are also used for pumping stations, lighting, etc.

Peculiarities

The following are characteristic features of automation cabinets:

• Use of a housing corresponding to the protection level IP31-IP65 depending on the installation location and possible contamination of the room, high humidity.
• Colored and digital marking of wiring for error-free connection of devices, instruments and equipment.
• Availability of breakaway terminals for quick replacement of devices.
• Light indicators of operating modes on the front panel.
• Equipped with a lock to prevent unauthorized access to electrical equipment.
• Possibility of grounding TN-C, TN-CS, TN-S.

Additional functions that can be installed upon agreement with the customer include lighting, door locks, and a limit switch. Grilles are installed to provide ventilation. All unused inputs/outputs are capped. The structures are painted in a color according to the RAL scale - the traditional option is RAL7035 (light gray).

When choosing a suitable control cabinet, the dimensions, number of devices and equipment in a modular design, purpose and other parameters are taken into account. To assemble a suitable cabinet based on ready-made solutions and complete with the required controllers, UPS, relays and other equipment, the customer will need to fill out a questionnaire.