Industrial pieces served by power supplies

DIN rail-mounted commercial power supplies feed dc capacity to industrial components for professional control, assembly, testing, and monitoring tasks - along with other automation equipment that uses dc power. These power supplies usually are found in electrical cabinets and control panels linked to elaborate power and communication networks involving myriad components. Outside control cabinets, power supplies may also be found on machinery providing capacity to HMIs, motor drives, actuators, sensors, and more.

Components that connect to commercial power supplies fall into two categories. The first category comprises distribution or intermediary power pieces that don’t use power themselves … but rather serve to connect the energy supply to the professional parts needing power while performing other crucial functions. The next category includes electronic and electromechanical components that consume significant power to function. Industrial pieces in the latter category can directly hook up to the energy supply - or indirectly hook up via an intermediary or a distribution component in the first category. In the end, a substantial number of power-consuming professional elements are intelligent systems containing processors and microchips demand finely shaped and controlled electrical power input.

In fact, there are also a wide array of industry-specific power supplies and accessories - specifically for automotive, process, aerospace, medical, food and beverage, and discrete manufacturing industries. It would be impossible to list all the specialized equipment in these industries employing power supplies. Having said that, following is a short set of exceptionally common industrial components that are very frequently ganged with DIN rail-mounted industrial power supplies.

Terminal blocks and power distribution
Power distribution and terminal blocks fall under the first category mentioned previously - intermediary power pieces that don’t use power themselves. These blocks are being used to distribute power from a single power supply to varied industrial components.

Intermediary power pieces come in various sizes and also have varying amounts of output terminals. Furthermore, power distribution and terminal blocks usually come with fuses linked to each terminal. The fuses could be rated differently … for terminals with different ratings. These elements usually connect directly to the energy supply from the energy supply’s output terminals with their input terminal. They may also connect via an uninterruptible power or UPS.

Uninterruptible power supplies
UPSs are electrical industrial components that ensure that power is continually supplied to the connected load by a battery when normal input power is unavailable. They’re usually used for short periods until the key power is restored. A UPS may have an inbuilt battery or may be a standalone unit with another battery. In both configurations, the UPS’s input terminal connects right to the energy supply’s output terminals. UPS systems with separate batteries feature additional input terminals for the battery. This implies that the battery never connects right to the load. Furthermore, UPSs may have multiple outputs that hook up to different loads. These industrial components act as both first and second-category devices (as described above) because after all, the supply capacity to other devices - and need capacity to execute their primary function.