Omron announces the introduction of a smart, flexible DC Circuit Protector that in one unit enables control up to 4 branches of up to 4A. The S8M offers many advantages compared to conventional circuit protectors. It gives total control over a 24VDC power supply and directly conforms to UL Class 2.

Omron's new S8M Multi-Circuit Protector represents a major step forward in circuit protection in several ways. Most importantly, the S8M's outputs conform to the UL Class 2 standard, which means that all secondary DC circuits automatically conform, too, thus design and development lead times for projects destined for export to the USA are shortened considerably.

The S8M offers stable and reliable tripping performance in terms of value, time and safety, especially with short loads. If the capacity of conventional circuit protector is inappropriate, they allow large pulse currents to flow intermittently. This will destabilise start-up operations and will ultimately lead to a real safety hazard. The cut-off performance of the S8M is such that there is no effect on other branch outputs and a current-limiting circuit prevents excessive current from flowing in a short-circuited state. In the event of an emergency, shutdown is immediate without the normal delays and the functions for tripping input and shutdown sequence combine to ensure that only the appropriate circuits are shut down. With the S8M, tripping values can be set easily and quickly in 0.1A units, including those for abnormal branch circuits.

The advanced monitoring functions of the S8M offer considerable cost savings and add value to devices without increasing the number of components. For example, it offers built-in monitoring, display and alarm of input voltage, output current, temperature and run-time, which greatly reduces downtime. It also gives full control over start-up and shutdown sequences. It does this by ensuring that power is only provided to devices when it has reached 24V and by preventing a sudden inrush of current. It initiates the shutting down of the respective control, sensor and drive circuits in the correct order.

The S8M has a built-in RS-232C-port which can be used to connect support software to set parameters, monitor, perform tripping operations for branch outputs. This port can also be connected to a network to perform other remote monitoring and control operations.

There are more economic advantages when using the S8M. As it consists of four circuit protectors in one package, the installation and wiring effort are reduced significantly. Further savings are made by eliminating the need to use over-sized power supplies in order to try and stabilize start-up operations, as is necessary with conventional circuit protectors.