Molex will present its proven Brad Direct-Link Harsh-Duty Unmanaged Ethernet Switches during this year’s SPS IPC Drives exhibition. Designed for plant floor and industrial automation network applications, Direct-Link switches provide a secure on-machine Ethernet connection to reduce complex network cabling, eliminate common wiring errors, and lower network costs.
“Production downtime causes significant revenue loss, which is a major concern for plant operators. Unexpected downtimes can occur from poor network connections, high vibration environments, and extreme temperature variations,” stated George Kairys, product manager, Molex. “Rugged Brad solutions solve this problem for our customers by helping to streamline plant floor Ethernet network connections in the most robust hardware design.”
Offered in 5- and 8-port versions Brad Direct-Link Harsh-Duty Unmanaged Ethernet Switches accept standard threaded M12 connectors. The push-to-lock Direct-Link switch ports feature a patented Ultra-Lock technology for fast and secure network connections. NEMA 6 and IP67-rated Direct-Link switches can withstand dusty environments, low pressure wash, and submersion. Available in 30 and 60mm width versions with standard hole patterns, the low-profile Direct-Link switches are easily mounted for optimal flexibility in space-constrained applications. LED visual indicators allow for quick diagnostics. Auto-learning features make Direct-Link switches ideal for novice or expert industrial network installers. A wide temperature range of -40 to +75ºC and a supply voltage range from 9 to 36V DC, makes these industrial switches also well suited for numerous mobile applications having severe environmental conditions, such as oil drilling rigs, mining equipment, agricultural machinery and process skids.
“Brad industrial Ethernet solutions are designed to seamlessly exchange and extract real-time data from the manufacturing floor. Cost-effective unmanaged Direct-Link switches give our industrial customers greater design freedom, simple installation, and the reliable network performance they deserve,” added Kairys.
