I am part of a team developing an Ex ec process control instrument for Class I, Division 2 locations and we are at a design crossroads.
I have reached out to some existing customers but I would love to get some feedback from industry professionals with installation experience.
A goal is for the device to not require an enclosure. This limits the wiring methods the are approved under the NEC/CEC. We could connectorize the device with something like a rugged M12 or an M16. This would create a more compact and less expensive device, but we think it would lock end users into a limited number of cable vendors and cable types (These mostly come in ITC/PLTC cable types) and would make certain things like creating serial communication buses or power buses for multiple devices more difficult.
Or we could create a terminal box that attaches to the top of the device with NPT or Metric porting that would allow users to connect armored cable, conduit, or anything else they can terminate to that box. This solution would be bulkier, more expensive and would require some additional electronics design work but it could be more flexible for end users.
How do you feel about connectorized process instruments in hazloc? Would your facility be able to support both ideas? Would you prefer one solution over the other?
I have reached out to some existing customers but I would love to get some feedback from industry professionals with installation experience.
A goal is for the device to not require an enclosure. This limits the wiring methods the are approved under the NEC/CEC. We could connectorize the device with something like a rugged M12 or an M16. This would create a more compact and less expensive device, but we think it would lock end users into a limited number of cable vendors and cable types (These mostly come in ITC/PLTC cable types) and would make certain things like creating serial communication buses or power buses for multiple devices more difficult.
Or we could create a terminal box that attaches to the top of the device with NPT or Metric porting that would allow users to connect armored cable, conduit, or anything else they can terminate to that box. This solution would be bulkier, more expensive and would require some additional electronics design work but it could be more flexible for end users.
How do you feel about connectorized process instruments in hazloc? Would your facility be able to support both ideas? Would you prefer one solution over the other?