Things to know about industrial switches

Industrial switches are concepts that are often mentioned in the industrial field. So what is an industrial switch? How are they different from the usual ones? Let’s find out together through the following article

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What are Industrial Switches?

Industrial switches are designed to operate in harsh industrial conditions and environments. With a higher total uptime than traditional Ethernet switches, industrial switches are the perfect networking solution for industrial or smart city networks, smart buildings, and surveillance cameras.

Industrial switches are designed with a sturdy metal housing for durability and can operate in temperatures ranging from -40°C to 75°C; some products can operate at temperatures up to 85°C. In addition, industrial switches also have anti-vibration, anti-shock, and explosion-proof capabilities to help the device operate stably in dusty, noisy industrial environments and bad weather conditions such as rain, wind, and thunder. This is something that ordinary Ethernet switches cannot do.

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Outstanding Features of Industrial Switches

• Ability to operate stably and continuously in harsh environments and withstand the impact of many environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, dust, vibration, shock, and corrosion.
• Supports multiple LAN ports to connect network devices and multiple network protocol standards for different connectivity needs.
• Provide network security and management functions to ensure network security.
• Flexibility in expanding for additional LAN ports or expanding the network as needed.
• It can be used in industrial and municipal applications, buildings, and network surveillance cameras.

What is the difference between an industrial switch and a conventional switch?

Environment

Vibrations and shocks caused by machinery in the factory have a significant effect on the life of the switchgear. To avoid this situation, the switches are designed to be mounted on DIN rails in industrial environments, unlike traditional switches. Industrial switches are specially designed to resist vibration and prevent cables from dropping or splitting, resulting in flickering network signals. Compared with traditional types, industrial switches withstand severe electrical interference, minimizing the risk of fire or damage to internal components.

Temperature

The components used to build industrial switches are designed and tested to operate in extreme temperatures, typically -40 to +85 °C (-40 to +185 °F), while conventional types only operate between 0 and +60 °C. Industrial switches work well in conditions such as manufacturing, shipping, marine, oil and gas, mining, blast furnaces, or rooms with high availability for a long time. Compared with traditional switches that only work normally for 1.5–3 years, industrial switches can operate for up to 10 years.

System Management and Security

Industrial switches are often preconfigured for immediate deployment, prioritizing network speed, availability, and reliability. As a result, most of them do not have management or security features to ensure performance and data transfer speeds. However, as the IoT evolved, new industrial switches added appropriate management and security features to connect to IoT devices and internet-connected systems. Meanwhile, conventional switches often have management and security features that can be customized to the needs of the user.

Remote monitoring management

Remote device management makes it easy to monitor system operation status, and configure, and control devices remotely without having to go directly to the installation site. Thereby making it easy to manage security policies. Remote monitoring management can be done via VPN, cloud, or paid management software (according to the policy of each manufacturer).

Application of industrial switches

Some typical industrial switch applications are as follows:

• Industrial Switches in the Energy Sector: For example, in an underground mine, the deployment of industrial Ethernet switches in a coal mine can effectively block dirt and other particles.
• Transportation Industry Application: Designed with an industrial-grade protection structure like IP40, industrial switches can withstand strong vibration and shock, helping you collect data due to object movement.
• Substation applications: high levels of electromagnetic interference are a major challenge for substations, and robust, reliable, and safe switching devices for harsh environments are the answer. for this problem. Because industrial switches have strong anti-interference abilities, they can operate in harsh electromagnetic environments while traditional types cannot.
• Application in smart city monitoring: Using industrial switches in smart city monitoring is a smart choice. This way, you can enjoy the benefits of easier cable and device control.

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Hopefully, through the article, you have understood more about industrial switches. If you have any questions about electronic components or welding materials, do not hesitate to contact The Tech for the most specific answers!