Feature Control devices
Through the ages I
n 1961, just ten years before the first issue of Design Solutions was published, a young technical designer and his commercial part- ner founded a company selling only a position switch. In the emerging age of automation the switch rapidly became a huge success and, fifty years on, .steute has vastly expanded its portfolio and now focuses on special- ist control devices such as pull-wire and foot switches, and Ex-protected and wireless switches. Initially, manufacturing meant assembling bought-in components, but the first position switch – the C 50 – was so successful that it was manufac- tured by .steute in large quantities. It is still manufactured today for many customers. This was then followed by the C 500 limit switch with two encapsulated versions and the company’s first customised switch, the ES 41. All four switches are still in production today. Over the next few years, the range developed to include pull, pull-wire and foot switches. Bespoke solutions, however, offer many benefits, and one early exam- ple was the development of a heavy- duty switch with rocker lever in
Right:
The company’s first position switch – the C 50
As a company formed ten years before Design Solutions was first published, .steute has had to evolve both its products and as a company to keep up with industry, technology and customer application demands
engineering were increasing and the non-contact technologies in inductive and capacitive sensor systems required electronic components. This led to the founding of steutronic and enabled .steute to concentrate on electro- mechanical solutions. Both companies then oversaw the beginnings of a medical equipment division, develop- ing electronically-controlled magnetic switches and Hall sensors for high- frequency surgery applications. Customised solutions were very much in demand, with one example including a door-
A wide range of products are now produced by the company
locking device with extremely precise switching elements for a Swiss textiles machinery manufacturer. So precise were the requirements of this particular application that the switch’s actuator was mounted on ball bear- ings. Other applications included control systems for industrial gates, cold stor- age warehouses, vacuum pack- aging machinery and dryers inside photo finishing machines.
The 1980s onwards
By the early 1980s steutronic had produced the Ex RC 84 reed contact switch, its first Ex-rated switch; and in 1987 the successful Ex 12 was devel- oped. This is still in production today. In 1994 steutronic was merged into the .steute business and in January 1995, with .steute’s founder looking for an external successor that would continue his life’s work, the company was sold and integrated into the Schmersal Group. Instead of becoming just a range, .steute quickly became a centre of excellence for specific prod- uct ranges and the integration was quick to produce results.
a die cast enclosure, which was commissioned by a woodworking machinery manufacturer.
By 1976 electronics were becoming increasingly important and Hall sen- sors were being integrated into .steute’s control devices. Projects that could no longer be solved with simple electrical
Design Solutions 1971-2011 Right: Stefan Schmersal
By 1997, with demand for medical control devices such as the GF1 foot switch booming, the medical equip- ment division became a separate business, but then in 2003 the com- pany split from the Schmersal Group and again became an independent company with Stefan Schmersal at the helm. In 2010, the company’s entire product range was divided into four sectors – Automation, Extreme, Meditec and Wireless.
‘Automation’ features a remarkably - 40TH ANNIVERSARY SUPPLEMENT - S33
diverse range of control devices, includ- ing position and pull-wire switches, door-handle and foot-operated switches and command devices. ‘Extreme’ comprises switchgear specifically designed and developed for use in ardu- ous and hazardous environments, including ATEX and IECEx approved devices that can be used in Zone 1 & 2 and 21 & 22 environments. ‘Meditec’ features products for the most demand- ing man-machine interfaces and includes wired and wireless foot and hand controls for medical devices as well as numerous tailor-made actua- tors for highly complex applications including surgery and ophthalmology. ‘Wireless’ features control devices designed for use in a variety of indus- trial
automation applications and includes battery-less control devices that generate their own power on demand, enabling them to transmit signals from a minimum distance of 30m (internally) up to a maximum of 300m (externally). Today, as well as manufacturing sophisticated control devices, the company is maintaining its focus on new technologies that will provide the solutions for tomorrow.
.steute UK & Ireland T: 01684 310430
www.steute.co.uk
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