Hazardous area remote terminals!

Eaton has launched a new MTL GECMA RT remote operating terminal, which enables plant managers to reduce operation costs, optimise productivity and increase plant safety. This terminal has a unique modular design and is a next generation remote terminal which features state-of-the-art technology to offer unparalleled levels of safety, making it ideal for use in hazardous EX zone areas in chemical, pharmaceutical, refinery and oil and gas industries worldwide.

It consists of five electronic modules; the display unit, power supply, communications modules, keyboard and mouse. The terminal’s modularity means upgrades to existing installations are quick and easy, which can save time, and minimise costly maintenance and downtime. Traditionally, the whole unit would have to be dismantled off site, but now with MTL GECMA RT, individual parts can be replaced simply on site, increasing plant availability.

Of vital importance, the modules are individually approved to global hazardous certification for Zone 1 environments. This offers safe handling on site and independent of the housing, and guarantees high reliability - worldwide.

The MTL GECMA RT features a couple of unique safety functions. First is a unique intrinsically safe cable for secure data transmission. Users can specify an Ethernet or fibre optic cable between the control room and remote terminal, with no need for additional external cable protection. This provides a saving of approximately 50% of wiring cost.

Secondly, the terminal features a unique visual alarm to immediately warn users in the event of a process failure. The alarm visualization system checks the correct data transmission to the display in real time and alerts users by way of a flashing red icon, enabling them to act straight away to rectify the problem. The MTL GECMA RT is the only remote operating terminal of its kind on the market to feature a visual alarm – other terminal screens typically freeze if there is a process fault – and it is expected to help plant managers reduce downtime and associated operating costs.

Available from stock and pre-tested, the MTL GECMA RT operating terminals are designed to enhance visualization within plant processes using displays ranging from 19 to 24 inches, with full HD versions offered in 22 and 24 inches. Displays are of the highest industrial quality and to ensure the best readability, the terminal incorporates optical bonding and LED-backlit technology resulting in a high resolution image in a low power display.

The USB interface future-proofs investment and allows easy expansion for additional connected devices, such as scanners or printers. MTL GECMA RT also supports WLAN and Bluetooth. MTL GECMA RT is available with a large range of cost effective specialist housing options. The flexibility of the design allows engineers to customise the housing to suit their application and the slimline stainless steel housing can be mounted to the floor, ceiling or other suitable stable object as required.

“Plant managers are under increased pressure to reduce costs, optimise productivity and increase plant safety and our new MTL GECMA remote terminals have been designed to meet these specifications and fit process needs,” says Axel Tischendorf, MTL GECMA Product Line Manager, Eaton’s Crouse-Hinds division. “The driving force of our investment is based on the knowledge and understanding of our customers’ requirements and the new generation of terminals is built on over 15 years’ experience in the industrial market.”

MTL products, part of Eaton’s Crouse-Hinds portfolio, provide leading electronic instrumentation and protection capabilities for the process control industries. Key applications include intrinsic safety, fieldbus, industrial networking, surge protection, HMI and visualisation, gas analysis and alarm management.