Electricity and Control February 2024

SENSORS + SWITCHES : PRODUCTS + SERVICES

Temperature controllers for diverse applications

Electronic controls are widely used and in industry they are found wherever there is a need to control a process, machines, or various devices. They may be used, for instance, to feed coal into a furnace when needed, to control heat treatment with clockwork precision in a glassworks or steelworks, and to maintain the required environmental parameters in chemical laboratories. The Korean company Autonics has become a leading global supplier of electronic temperature controllers. Au tonics is a multiple award-winning manufacturer of solu tions for industrial automation and as a global brand pro viding high-end products it competes with industry giants. The company began manufacturing controllers in 1977 and demand for its products led it to open more branches in South Korea. Building on its domestic suc cess, it expanded into foreign markets, including Japan, Indonesia, the USA and China. Today, the company has branches in 12 countries around the globe and offers its products and support to customers worldwide. The Autonics portfolio includes sensors, measure ment systems and laser marking systems. Here TME fo cuses specifically on the temperature controllers and I/O modules that are in its catalogue. Temperature controllers (known in their simplest ver sion as thermostats, and in more advanced versions as temperature regulators) are devices whose main task is to read and analyse temperature and then intelligently control the settings to obtain a set value. In design, a controller is usually a small cube (with each plane be tween 50 and 100 mm long) equipped with a digital LED or LCD display and a number of buttons for intuitive man ual control. Enclosures vary depending on the applica tion and mounting location. Alarm outputs are an additional option offered in ad vanced controllers. The sensor, made of materials char acterised by appropriate conductivity and resistance to high temperatures, such as platinum, copper or nickel, is responsible for measuring temperature. The sensors will be used in different temperature ranges, depending on the material used. The operating temperature of the controller itself generally falls in the range from -20°C to around 90°C. Other sensors used

in temperature controllers are thermocouples, which allow for temperatures above 1 000°C to be measured. Because they are used in industrial applications such devices, are designed to operate in demanding work shop conditions. High-quality products are IP65 rated, providing a barrier against contaminants such as dust or liquids. Communication between the temperature regu lator and the control computer is seamless, so readings can be analysed and archived in real time. In operation the temperature controller transmits a signal to the actuator (for example, a heater or an air conditioning unit) indicating that the temperature differs from the set value and needs to be adjusted. The heating or cooling system then switches on and runs until the controller’s computer signals again that the set temperature has been reached. Applications Simple temperature controllers are found in many everyday appliances. Autonics, as a leading manufacturer, offers controllers that are used in more complex systems – in glassworks or steelworks, as noted above, as well as cement plants, and conventional and nuclear power plants. Temperature controllers are used wherever constant temperature maintenance or adjustment is required. TK and TX temperature regulators Autonics has various models of temperature regulators in its portfolio, two of which are new to the TME catalogue. The TK series comprises high-quality PID controllers characterised by a fast sampling cycle (up to 50 ms), with accuracy of ± 0.3%. These controllers can be used to carry out both heating and cooling processes. The controller can be programmed via the control panel on the enclosure or via a USB cable connection from a

PC. Settings can be conveniently changed via the free DAQ Master software. The large LED backlit display facilitates reading and controlling the device even in dark rooms. With its compact design, the controller can fit into the limited space of any control cabinet. The TK series of solutions helped reduce the size of the unit by 38% compared to previous models and improved the speed of sampling cycles. The devices are available in several enclosure versions, which means they can be ap plied in almost any configuration. In the event of a heater burnout, the TK series models protect the user by activating a pre-set alarm. Continued on page 23

ARIO I/O modules are compatible with the DAQ Master software so no additional software is needed.

TK Series panel-mounted module.

TX controller with an alarm output.

22 Electricity + Control FEBRUARY 2024