Electrical fuse on Gefran GFW heating controllers
June 2013
Electrical Power & Protection
Gefran has developed an innovative electronic fuse function on its GFW power controllers for industrial electrical heating control applications. This guarantees fast, reliable, safe and maintenance-free internal protection.
In many industrial processes such as heat treatment of metals, glass flat tempering and material sintering, high-level electrical heating systems are needed. Based on the required temperatures, these systems use heating resistors with distinctive physical properties that need power controllers with very specific control algorithms.
In consideration of the electrical environment, the power controllers have to be equipped with ultra-fast fuses to protect them against short circuits that may occur due to loss of insulation of the resistor, material in movement, operator error, or current spikes. The electronic fuse function on Gefran’s GFW controllers reacts to a temporary or permanent short circuit on the load, opening the power junction in a few microseconds, zeroing the current flow and going into a waiting state.
The controller operation can be reset by a pushbutton on the front panel, by remote control via Fieldbus or can be automatic, without the presence of the operator, and with a number of attempts settable as a parameter. Reset is simple and there is unlimited protection against breaking of the junction. There is automatic reset from temporary shorts and arcs without the presence of the operator. The main benefit is a significant reduction in downtime compared to traditional fuses which need to be manually replaced.
For more information contact Manfred Kriess, unitemp, +27 (0)21 762 8995, [email protected], www.unitemp.com
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