Action Instruments I/O Signal Conditoners
ACTN-IO-SGNL
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- States: GA, NC, SC, TN, VA
- Summary: Eurotherm's Action Instruments wide range of signal conditioning, sensing and actuation equipment is designed for you to get the best from your process with accurate, reliable performance.
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ACTION INSTRUMENTS FEATURES
Every Action Instruments product is designed for easy installation, operation and maintenance. Whether you are amplifying or splitting signals, conditioning sensor outputs, isolating grounding problems, or adding more drive to current loops, Action's complete product selection provides simple, convenient solutions to any analog signal conditioning need. Action Instruments deliver reliable signal processing under harsh conditions and are designed the real world industrial environment, surviving the extremes of vibration, shock, temperature and humidity that are common to the manufacturing arena.
ACTION INSTRUMENTS PRODUCTS
The Action I/Q Series of signal conditioners have wide ranging field configurable inputs and outputs. These DC, RTD, T/C, potentiometer, bridge/strain gauge, AC and frequency input devices incorporate TouchCal technology, which simplifies calibration and allows more than 90% adjustment of zero and span.
Action I/Q™ DIN Rail Mount Signal Conditioners, Isolators, & Alarms (AC Powered, 4-Wire)
Action I/Q (DC Powered 2-Wire / 4-Wire)
The Action I/Q (loop powered) DIN rail mount package was developed to reduce the cost of signal conditioning. The two primary design considerations were to house as many channels of isolated I/O as possible and to reduce the wiring requirements.
ActionPak Signal Conditioners and Limit Alarms feature the most diverse input/output range. Plug-in mounting, Fixed terminals wiring, Power: 120V ac or 240V ac or 9-30V dc, Isolation up to 1500V.
Action TransPak series two-wire transmitters are compact, rugged units that receive signals and direct sensor inputs, and operate from power derived from the output signal loop. The TransPak series provides a complete line of direct interface and conditioning modules for use with temperature, pressure, flow, strain and other process parameters. TransPak transmitters also accept a wide range of other electrical DC and AC voltage and current inputs.
Action Ultra SlimPaks are high density, DIN Rail mount, setpoint limit alarm and isolating signal conditioner modules. All Ultra SlimPak modules utilize Action's advanced, ASIC-based design for field configurable input and output flexibility. The Ultra SlimPak II Series can function as traditional standalone limit alarms and isolators, or they can simultaneously be connected to your company's intranet to monitor your signals via a standard browser when coupled with the optional WVC16 interface unit.
Action I/Q Visipak Temperature/Process Indicators are programmable, frequency or pulse input LED indicators which display either a totalized count or the pulse rate, complete with scaling k-factor function.
Action I/Q Omni Series Signal Conditioners apply across a range of requirements; amplifying or splitting signals, conditioning sensor outputs, isolating grounding problems, or adding more drive to current loops."
Competitively priced, these products offer quality solutions for a range of applications from furnace to atmosphere control systems.
WHAT ARE I/O SIGNAL CONDITIONERS?
Signal conditioners are electronic instruments used in factory or machine automation. They can amplify, convert, boost, transform, buffer, filter, alarm and isolate process control signals. There seems to be no limit to the variety of things control engineers want to do with control signals. Signal conditioners are known by many names: converters, transducers, isolators, transmitters, and black boxes. Conventionally, most signal conditioners and isolators fall into two categories based on the number of wires required for power and signal.
Four-wire Transmitters
A four-wire transmitter has two wires for power and two wires for the signal output. A four-wire transmitter can be either AC or DC powered. Four-wire transmitters provide a powered output, either a voltage signal (e.g., 0-10V, 1-5V); a current signal (e.g., 4-20mA, 10-50mA); or in some cases a relay (e.g., solid state or contact closure). Four-wire transmitters require a power supply - they do not use power from the input or output signal lines. The power supply allows four-wire transmitters to power their output signal. Because of this, they are often used to boost signal strength for retransmission.
Two-wire Transmitters
A two-wire transmitter is powered by the same two wires that carry the output signal. A two-wire transmitter is always DC powered and the output can only be a current signal, typically 4-20mA, or sometimes 10-50mA. The two-wire transmitter is considered a field device and requires very little power (milliwatts). It is therefore appropriate for hazardous (explosive) environments, such as chemical refineries and pharmaceutical plants. The low DC power requirement, which ranges from 10-48VDC at currents as low as 4mA, reduces the chances of an electrical spark causing ignition of flammable vapors or dust. Additionally, two-wire transmitters save on wire costs since both the signal and power are on the same wires. Locating a two-wire transmitter as far as 2000 feet from the control room is possible and at half the wiring cost of a four-wire transmitter. It is important to note that two-wire transmitters can be isolated or non-isolated. Many low-cost two-wire transmitters are not isolated, which makes it important to ensure that the input sensor is not grounded.
Limit Alarms
Limit alarms are considered a four-wire transmitter since they have two wires for power and at least two wires for the relay signal output. Limit alarms are similar to a thermostat. On your thermostat at home you may have the temperature set to a cozy 72°F or 23°C. If the room temperature falls below that "setpoint" the heater will turn on. This is an example of on/off control. A limit alarm performs the same function. It has a setpoint which is compared to a process signal. If the temperature gets too high, the limit alarm is used to alert an operator or shut down the process. Other applications include limit alarms that can also act as backup for a control system to perform a controlled shutdown process in order to prevent damage or other hazards.
Digital Indicators
Digital indicators (or panel meters) will also accept direct sensor inputs. For the most part, AC powered indicators can be considered a four-wire transmitter if they are configured with an analog or relay output. Indicators are most commonly used to display process variables, however some have secondary functions, such as a 4-20mA transmitter output, limit alarm, or relay contact closure output.
Signal Conditioning Processes
Signal Conditioning Processes
Signal Conversion : Industrial applications use a wide array of sensors to measure temperature, flow, length, speed etc. These signals may then need to be converted into a form usable by the instrumentation to which they are connected. Any sensor signal (thermocouple, RTD, DC voltage, DC current) can be converted to any standard process signal.
Linearization : Many sensors output a signal that is not linearly related to the engineering value being measured. For example, a thermocouple used to measure temperature has a nonlinear millivolt output. A thermocouple input signal isolator translates this to a standard robust linear signal such as 4 to 20 MA.
Isolation : A ground loop can occur if more than one ground connection is made to a single control signal. Because grounds are seldom at the same potential, an unwanted current will be generated and interfere with the control signal. Signal isolators break the ground loop current path and maintain the integrity of the measurement.
Noise Filtering : Isolators incorporate low pass filters that eliminate high frequency EMI/RFI and unwanted signals from power lines, generators and motors.Limit alarm units take in a process signal and compare it to one or more setpoints. They then provide an output signal, usually a relay contact, when the signal crosses the setpoint.:
Math : Isolators can perform addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, square root, and averaging.