Types of Control Panels

Control panels are often flat organized areas where control instrumentation is installed. They are usually mounted in a secure area and are used in factories or machines for control and monitoring. Some control panels have touch screen interfaces and others have different instrumentation devices like gauges, meters and push button or touch screen controls. Sometimes a touch screen interface is mounted in the control panel door so users can interface with the control equipment or read instrument readings from outside of the control panel without having to open it. They often have communication equipment which allows it to communicate with other systems or back to a control center for remote access. Control panels are used in many industries including transportation, energy, communication, building automation, security, oil and gas, mining, manufacturing, food and beverage and automotive. .

Railway system control panels are installed in harsh high vibration environments that often need to survive in extended operating temperatures. Railway cars often need to travel through extremely hot or cold climates. Railway control panels often include power controls, momentary switches for remote turnout control, toggle switches for control of sections of track, and lighting controls. They also include data communication equipment so the panel can communicate with other local systems. Industrial Ethernet switches like NSM-208PSE-R were designed to meet railway standards and have MIL SPEC conformal coating protection which allows them to operate in extended operating temperatures. Other industrial Ethernet switches for railway systems like NSM-208-M12 or NSM-208PSE-M12 have M12 type connectors which screw in instead of plug in for high vibration type of environments.

Home and building automation control panels often need to control lighting, audio, video and temperature control systems. Home and building control panels are usually installed in indoor, temperature regulated environments. Controls are often touch screen interfaces that are installed on the wall or in the wall. Some control systems can mount on the wall or in a light switch type of outlet like TPD-433 touch screen PLC with RS-485 and Ethernet ports. They can be used to control Modbus devices like drives, motors, or data acquisition equipment. VP-4137 can be mounted in a wall or in a control panel and has I/O slots for digital or analog data acquisition modules for monitoring or control. It also has a web server for publishing data in case access from devices like cell phones is required.

ICP DAS is a manufacturer of Industrial Data Communication, Automation Control and Test and Measurement products; specializing in: PLC Hardware, Ethernet controllers, distributed I/O modules, Industrial Ethernet Switches, PCI and ISA boards, and much more! We provide free technical support.

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