Power management company Eaton has launched a new line of Pro-FX electronic controls and software, including the HFX controllers and VFX displays families, and the Pro-FX Control software suite to precisely control machine functions for mobile off-highway applications, such as within agricultural, construction, material handling and surface mining vehicles.
“The new Pro-FX family offers customers best-in-class hardware and software to solve control challenges without digging into the bottom line,” says Christophe Natter, product marketing manager, Eaton.
“Simplifying electric control integration without sacrificing customisation options helps end-users in a wide range of markets improve productivity, operator safety and energy efficiency.”
New HFX controllers are IP67 and IP69K rated. Their die-cast aluminium housing is rugged enough to withstand wide temperature ranges and water depths. Multiple inputs and outputs, including three CAN ports, provide flexible configurations to meet individual customer’s needs.
With one of the fastest processors on the market, the controllers allow for precise equipment control. Additionally, memory can be allocated to perform data logging functions that can reduce cost by taking the guesswork out of maintenance by predicting problems before they happen.
The new line also includes two displays – 4.3 and 7 inches. Like the controllers, the best-in-class display screens are extremely rugged, built to withstand high and low temperatures, and are readable in direct sunlight.
With a powerful backlight and an optically-bonded liquid crystal display (LCD) screen, the displays not only provide sunlight optimised viewing capabilities at every angle, but also protect against fog and dust contamination – a must-have in the mobile off-road market.
In addition to the new controllers and displays, Eaton is releasing the new Pro-FX configuration software, which is based on CoDeSys V3.5, a non-proprietary common programming tool, and is International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61131-3 compliant.
With full customisation and automation options, Pro-FX software helps maximise machine productivity by simplifying operations and minimising operator impact.
The software comes with six programming languages, including graphical and textual, as well as an extensive set of function block libraries. The libraries contain pre-configured software objects to help customers rapidly develop their applications.
To help customers reduce the time to include the controllers within their system, Pro-FX control software includes fully integrated CANopen and J1939 CAN Stacks. The software suite also contains advanced graphic capabilities that can be used to create a first class human machine interface.