The new products that steute will be presenting at the SPS IPC Drives event next week include a series of foot controls especially developed for use in extreme environments.
The foot controls in the GF(S)I Extreme series are designed to be very robust and can withstand even high levels of mechanical wear and tear. An optional protective guard hinders unintentional actuation. The housing is so effectively sealed that it can even withstand high-pressure cleaning (protection class IP 69K). The special powder-coated and corrosion resistant aluminium housing also passed the salt spray test according to DIN EN ISO 9227 with no difficulty at all.
This switchgear series can be used in safety applications (GFSI) and to actuate machine functions during normal operation (GFI). Different switching inserts permit adaptation to individual applications.
An Ex variant for Ex zones 1 and 2 is under development. A wireless variant requiring neither power nor signal cables is also planned. This variant will communicate via the sWave SW868 /SW915 wireless technology developed by steute. It facilitates greater flexibility when positioning switchgear and excludes the risk of cables becoming damaged in the rough ambient conditions which extreme foot controls are exposed to every day.
