Electricity + Control May 2015

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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
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