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How the use of digital residual
current devices increases
operator safety, machine
uptime and profitability
Maximising uptime is vital for
companies to remain competitive
in today’s market. For example the
cost of downtime on a machine can
easily run in to tens of thousands
of Euros. Many businesses operate
with minimal reserve stock, while
processes typically run at over 95%
uptime to meet demand. For these
reasons, downtime can quickly lead
to loss of shipments, impacting
turnover and customer confidence.
Circuit protection and in particular
digital residual current devices
(RCDs) can help machine builders
offer their manufacturing customers
increased uptime as they provide
local and remote monitoring and
pre-warning capabilities. This
technology provides information
about the machine’s health to
the maintenance personnel and
therefore facilitates preventive
maintenance, ultimately leading to
less machine downtime.
Further increases to a machine’s
reliability can be made by installing
the right technology according to
appropriate standards and safety
requirements. Here is it vital for
machine builders, especially for
those who export worldwide, to
work with partners that know the
international requirements, saving
both time and money.
The function of a residual
current device
RCDs protect against damaging
electrical faults, where residual and
leakage currents caused by fault
conditions occur within an electrical
circuit. These can have devastating
effects on the human body, causing
cardiac arrest or worse, and lead
to machine failure affecting the
bottom-line. They can also lead to
fires.
RCDs have been available for
decades, reliably protecting man
and machine. The first patents
were received by Professor Dr.
Biegelmeier in 1957, and further
development ensued with the first
permanent magnet tripping unit
being developed in 1965 - this
is the heart of the modern RCD.
The first digital RCD Type B and
B+ technology was available in
2014. The advantages of RCDs are
widely known, but digital RCDs are
heralding a new era in preventative
maintenance.
The IEC 60364 and the respective
national standards or the NEC
(National Electrical Standard) for
North America provide the base
for the installation of Low Voltage
Residual Current Devices in a Digital World
Peter-Lukas Genowitz, Product Manager RCCB at Eaton
28 l New-Tech Magazine Europe