Industrial Automation Magazine India

IDEC announces new low-profile touchless switches

Published on : Friday 11-11-2022

LED illumination and indoor/outdoor durability make these low-profile touchless switches ideal for clean and functional industrial and public applications.

 

IDEC Corporation, Sunnyvale, CA, November 10, 2022 — IDEC Corporation has introduced a new line of CW low-profile touchless switches suitable for many hygienic industrial and public automation applications, addressing cleanliness concerns for protecting against Covid-19 and other contamination. Touchless switches are durable and reduce total cost of equipment operation.

 World events have introduced a new sense of urgency among people to find ways for minimizing unnecessary touching of objects in the environment. IDEC is contributing to the well-being of these users by introducing touchless switches, which reduce or remove the need for personnel to sanitise the switch faces, saving labour and the cost of chemicals, and eliminating the need for protective films. Because there is no contact involved, users do not need to dispose of gloves or wash after using these switches. The lack of mechanical contact and cleaning also reduces switch deterioration, providing a long operational lifetime.

 The CW touchless switches are designed with a sleek and nearly flush (just 2mm rise) low-profile surface silhouette. They are built for an industry standard 22mm mounting hole and require only a shallow 35mm space behind the panel face, plus room for the wiring connector. The typical installation pitch is 30mm width and 50mm height. Operating temperatures range from minus 25 to plus 55DegC.

 A rubber washer and locking ring ensure IP65/67 and NEMA Type 4X ratings are maintained. The CW1H housing and bezel is black plastic resin, and the CW4H is silver aluminium alloy metal. Although the switches are rated for outdoor use, are made from weather resistant materials, and are highly resistant to visible light, excessive exposure to ultraviolet rays from direct sunlight can cause material degradation and colour fading, and even false signals. Additionally, as with almost any signalling device, dirt and water droplets can impact operation. Therefore, designers should check product performance before use, and consider degrees of physical protection.