Control panel building

What cabinets, components do you use, and tips on building control cabinets. Whats new on the market as in components.

Generally, Code and Law dictate what's up!

The only tip I can give you is "Keep it neat and well documented to code".

I had to do a service call last night (I don't get paid for these, but I was convenient at the time, so OK)

After a few minutes of finding out what the actual problem was. I had inquired as to why the AC output's of this PLC and all the wiring to output's and thereof were BLUE??? The name Paul resonated quite clearly!

I'll be replacing this one soon!

Hello,

I get all of my enclosures from Automation Direct. Good quality at a fair price. I prefer Phoenix Contact for all of my terminals, signal conditioning, surge suppressors, power supplies, etc. I have had nothing but good luck with them. As far as push buttons and the such, I stick with Allen Bradley because their buttons are iron clad. Expensive, but iron clad and sadly that is a requirement at my shop. (Technicians tend to have a heavy reset finger.) We tried Automation Direct buttons on a peice of equipment once and they lasted mabye 6 months before they were broken.

As padees stated neatness and documentation are key.

Don't cut your wire duct covers until all of the wiring is complete. The duct could flex one way or another from wires pushing on it and all of a sudden the covers you so perfectly fit on there don't line up anymore.

Wire is cheap.....unless it is too short.

I don't like wires to be "bundled" into a single terminal, I try to plan ahead to have enough open terminals as I will need for field devices like sensors and the such. Phoenix Contact makes terminals that will accept 4 wires in a single terminal if space is an issue.

Use as little high voltage components as possible. You can get pretty much everything now that will operate on 24vdc. Usually when I am done with a panel you cant even see the red and white 120 volt wiring under the sea of blue 24 volt wiring. This is much safer for future troubleshooting.

If you are making a lot of knock outs in the panel a greenlee slug buster beats the heck out of drilling.

Just a few tips to get you started, hope they are helpful. Good luck!

-Dave

dploof23 said:

Use as little high voltage components as possible. You can get pretty much everything now that will operate on 24vdc. Usually when I am done with a panel you cant even see the red and white 120 volt wiring under the sea of blue 24 volt wiring. This is much safer for future troubleshooting.
-Dave

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IMO that is a little misleading. I agree with 24 VDC for field devices and inputs but on motor starters and heater contactors and such it is more problem that it is worth. Coils are larger and in many cases run hotter than 120 VAC and you can have issues with aux contacts and such on 24 VDC due to the contact wiping not being so great at that low voltage.

24 VDC is for safety and primarily arc flash safety but if you have 24 VDC coil on a starter that is switching 480 VAC you are no safer using 24 VDC as the 480 VAC is the real damger. 120 VAC controls in cabinets are not bad but prefered in dirty and corrosive enviroments. If you want control cabinet safety where there are 480 or 600 volt loads concentrate on making components touch safe and reduce the available arc flash energy in the panel and not so much on 24 VDC controls.

In a panel with no 230,460,600 volt loads the by all means 24 VDC all the way. I like to keep all my drives and ATL motor contactors with high voltages in one panel and plc,IO and field sensor connections in a seperate panel.

Also read this thread. It is very helpful. Packed with loads of tips from various members.

http://www.plctalk.net/qanda/showthread.php?t=18737

This one has great pictures to look at for ezamples.

http://www.plctalk.net/qanda/showthread.php?t=8991

Another good thread full of tips

http://www.plctalk.net/qanda/showthread.php?t=11712

Panels can be an ugly thing!

There is one job that I am supposed to do some programming on, but refused to even touch it unless someone got in there and cleaned up the mess.

Been on a job where the panel builder used 2x4's as din rail standoffs. I have pictures of that somewhere. (I am still laughing about that one) Fixed now!

Ever seen a panel infested with mice? Someone broke the latch on a Hoffman 2 door before last winter when a seasonal OP. closed for the winter. Mice found it to be much warmer in the wireway and such. They also liked to gnaw on the PVC jacket, which several dead mice were reported. Pretty sure there are a few more dead mice in the underground conduit. The redundant PLC5's took a hit also.

Ever seen a 13 slot rack where every card has the same wire number going to each specific address. eg, input 1 slot 2 has the same wire number as input 1 slot 7, but they are not connected to the same device. Try troubleshoot that one. By the time I got to it, it was total spaghetti because my predecessors had pulled all the wires out of the duct and left it hanging.

Ever see a 10 slot 500 with a quarter inch of foundry sand on top of the rack?, and the darn thing is still working!!!

I can go on and on about this, but may end up in the ER due to laughing so hard.

Keep it clean, to code, and engineered properly. Components you select are going to be based on the engineering specifications of the project. Like, what's it gotta do!

What layout do use, what din rail, wire duct, breakers, transformers, relays, piolet lights(bulb or LED), power distribution blocks and so on.

jtashaffer said:

What layout do use, what din rail, wire duct, breakers, transformers, relays, piolet lights(bulb or LED), power distribution blocks and so on.

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Bulb lamps are illegal in EU-area !

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase-out_of_incandescent_light_bulbs