If the operator won’t come to the switch!

Ergonomic comfort and flexibility: wireless hand control

If the operator won’t come to the switch – then the switch must go to the operator. Bearing this principle in mind, steute has developed the RF HB-4CH wireless hand control, to be presented at the SPS IPC Drives for the first time. Development of this industry-compatible hand control was inspired by the steute business division Meditec, which provides high-quality controls for medical equipment.

The RF HB-4CH is equipped with four push buttons which can be assigned desired functions with very little parametric effort on the receiver side. The housing is comfortable and very light to handle, aided by powerful lithium batteries which provide the power necessary for around 800,000 switching cycles without needing to be changed.

The hand control communicates with the receiver device via sWave wireless technology (SW 868/ SW 915). Very short switching frequencies are possible (approx. 12,000 telegrams with repetition per hour). The range is 400 m outdoors and around 50 m inside buildings. This wireless technology, developed by steute especially for industrial applications, creates the conditions necessary for disturbance-free, reliable signal transmission and the simultaneous operation of several hand controls within one wireless area.

With its RF HB-4CH, steute is able to open up new fields of application. The steute business division Wireless offers a wide range of very different wireless switchgear, but until now has never had a mobile control system. Demand is expected from areas such as logistics, building automation, machine and plant engineering. Wherever staff have to walk long distances, the operation of machine functions by remote control can save time and optimise processes. Typical uses for the wireless hand control could be the control of machines (e.g. for material feeding) and hoisting devices, as well as the operation of automatic storage systems, pumps and winches. In building automation, the wireless switching device can be used to operate, for example, industrial gates, barriers and lighting systems.