Extronics Making Hazardous Areas Safer

Extronics is a leading global designer and manufacturer of a diverse range of intrinsically safe and explosion-protected equipment. Based in the UK, we serve customers throughout the world that work in potentially explosive environments, particularly those involved in the petrochemical industry.

Extronics’ product focus falls into four key areas:

• Wireless networks
• Vision technologies
• Personnel and asset tracking
• Hazardous area engineering

Wireless networks in hazardous areas

Over the last few years, Extronics has led the way in helping companies to unlock their data from hazardous areas via standards-based wireless technology. Through innovative product development, technical design capability and technical partnerships with companies such as Cisco® and Aruba®, Extronics has become recognised as a leader in this particular field. Applications once deemed impractical and costly are now a commercial reality.

The iSOLATE500 is the world’s first apparatus-certified intrinsically safe radio frequency galvanic isolator. Resulting from four years of research and development by Extronics, the iSOLATE500 is a major breakthrough in hazardous area wireless networking. Featuring a unique galvanic isolation design, the unit blocks all possible faults, including hazardous transients, and makes any RF output intrinsically safe.

Designed to be fully certified for use in ATEX and IECEx Zone 0, the iSOLATE500 enables standard wireless equipment to be deployed in the vast majority of hazardous areas without the need for costly assessment by notified bodies. Live connect / disconnect of standard antennae is now allowed and the whole process of deploying wireless networks in hazardous areas is made a far simpler, elegant and more cost-effective process.

The iWAP200 Zone 2 access point enclosure is designed to allow the full deployment of wireless networks in hazardous areas. The concept allows the installation of equipment from leading vendors such as Cisco and Aruba, meaning company standard equipment can be rolled out across all process areas. Constructed in 316L-grade stainless steel and with an IP66 rating, the iWAP200 is ideal for deployment in potentially explosive, harsh, wet and corrosive environments.

ATEX-approved vision technologies

Extronics has considerable expertise in providing ATEX-approved vision solutions for hazardous areas. Solutions are particularly suitable for the petrochemical industry. This expertise includes the design and production of the world’s first intrinsically safe digital cameras, the iCAM50x range, as well as innovative monitoring solutions, video monitors and human-machine interfaces (HMIs).

The iCAM100 ATEX Zone 1 CCTV camera is designed for use in Zone 1, 21 and Zone 2, 22 hazardous areas, where a method of surveillance is required and space is at a premium. The camera is a perfect choice for use as part of a CCTV system, or just for single point monitoring of a process operation with a local hazardous area video monitor. With IP65 ingress protection, 316L stainless steel and glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) construction the iCAM100 is also suitable for use in harsh environments.

Personnel and asset tracking in hazardous areas

Personnel and asset tracking solutions are of particular importance to companies with designated hazardous areas. Extronics’ wireless expertise provides the framework for the delivery of a range of active and passive radio-frequency identification (RFID)-based tracking solutions. Solutions are designed to dramatically improve worker safety, production efficiency and asset management.

iMUSTER is an automatic mustering and personnel location system which is based on standard 802.11 WiFi. The system is fully ATEX, IECEx and FM-certified. It ensures the safe evacuation of personnel on hazardous facilities such as offshore production platforms, drilling rigs, FSOs and FPSOs. More cost-effective than systems based on proprietary wireless networks, iMUSTER is highly scalable; from small systems with less than 100 tags to systems tracking and monitoring tens of thousands.

Hazardous area engineering

The Extronics engineering team possesses the expertise and experience necessary to create bespoke engineered solutions based on various concepts of protection in hazardous environments. This engineering expertise has enabled Extronics to create a range of innovative solutions which are available as standard items, dramatically reducing both lead time and production costs.

Extronics’ iUPS hazardous area uninterruptible power supply systems are ATEX and IECEx approved and have been deployed in a wide variety of critical hazardous area environments. In these extreme environments, power supplies can be subject to potentially damaging fluctuations and outages. The systems are also able to operate in temperatures up to 55°C ambient.

The iUPS101 range is designed for use in ATEX Zone 1 areas and can be wall or floor mounted. Able to back up 230VAC power for up to 35 minutes, at 3KVA full load, the unit has a modular design which allows an additional battery pack to be integrated to double the backup time to a maximum of 70 minutes with a 3KVA load. The modular design also enables the creation of a system delivering a maximum load of 9KVA for 60 minutes at 20°C ambient temperature.