Electricity + Control May 2015

ANALYTICAL INSTRUMENTATION

ROUND UP

Cube-shaped process instrumentation sunshade

Intertec has launched a large cube-shaped sunshade for process instrumentation. It provides plant engineers with a highly

cost-effectivemeans of shielding equipment such as electronic monitoring systems, explosion-proof junction boxes or analyser installations from solar radiation. Dubbed CubeShade, the protective cover measures 600 x 550 x 500 mm (HxWxD). This provides a massive 165 litre capacity shaded environment that makes it easy to accommodate and protect large or multiple instruments, as well as simplifying maintenance access. The new sunshade design is manufactured using an automated moulding process and offers a par- ticularly economic solution for this common application. Most process instrument sun- shades on the market are relatively small and are often targeted at sin- gle instruments or small-scale field equipment installations. If Intertec needs to provide solar protection for larger installations – such as two or three process transmitters – sunshades are usually

created to suit the specific application by building up multiple layers of glass rein- forced polyester (GRP) in a custom mould to achieve the necessary thickness. This manually-intensive process can increase costs significantly. If the number of sunshades required runs into hundreds – which is common for greenfield projects – the extra costs can be high. Intertec's new CubeShade is constructed entirely from glass fibre reinforced sheet moulding compound (SMC).This combines chopped glass fibres, fillers, polyester resin and a catalyst in the form of a ready-to- mould composite that is ideal for low cost, high volume manufacturing. The material has similar advantages to GRP for this type of application, including a high resistance to UV and corrosion from salt and common petrochemicals, and a low thermal conductivity, which helps to prevent heat generated by solar radiation being transferred to the shaded area. It also combines excellent rigidity and mechanical strength – for protection against impact – with a very low weight. Enquiries: Email info@intertecinst.nl

Hamilton ARC System

ARC Sensors for DO-, pH- and Conductivity measurements 4-20mA and Modbus parallel interface for process safety Direct connection to the PLC without transmitter Integrated maintenance, alarm and diagnostics functionality Multiple monitoring options

MECOSA (PTY) LTD

Exclusively available from

Tel: (011) 257-6100 Fax: (011) 257-6123 PO Box 651240, Benmore, 2010 E-mail: measure@mecosa.co.za Web: www.mecosa.co.za