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Wash-Down Cord Sets Improve Reliability

for Sensor-Laden Automation Systems

Tim Senkbeil 8/20/14

oil and gas, Industrial Connectivity, wash-down, cable components, food and beverage, manufacturing, cord sets,
Industrial Automation, Reliability, Downtime, Lumberg Automation, energy, chemical manufacturing

Editor’s Note: Thanks to Tim Senkbeil, a product manager with Belden’s Lumberg
Automation brand, for his contribution to this article.

In the last several years, many industrial-based businesses – such as food and
beverage, oil and gas, power utilities, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, cosmetics and
others – have focused on improving their financial standing by investing in sensor-
laden automated systems that maximize productivity and streamline production.

By embedding connectivity into their industrial equipment, managers are able to

monitor system performance and ensure their facility is consistently performing at a
high level.

As these connected systems become more critical to businesses' success, the need to
prevent equipment failure and unplanned downtime becomes even more important
than usual. If a cord set fails in an industrial setting, the losses can quickly put a major
dent in overall profitability.
Repair and labor costs, as well as the costs of lost productivity and discarded
materials, can add up to 15-20 times the cost of the component itself. In certain
industries, a single hour of unplanned downtime can cost $20,000 - $30,000.

With thousands of dollars, as well as the physical well-being of employees and

equipment at stake, businesses in industrial settings need to ensure that the cord sets
used to enable connected and automated systems can withstand the extreme,
hazardous conditions they're exposed to.

Figure 1: Machine Builder Setting

Challenges of Maintaining Connected System

Reliability in Industrial Settings

In many industrial settings, the cord sets and cables used to connect sensors and
machinery are subjected to a wide variety of harsh conditions that can weaken or
destroy them. This can include:

• Physical stress caused by vibrations, contact with people, machinery, bacteria,

food and microorganisms, or even high-pressure water cleaners.
• Chemical stress from caustic materials used to clean and sanitize many facilities.
 • Extremely high or low temperatures that can wear down cables and connectors,
causing them to crack, or compromise protective coverings.

These conditions present a number of significant challenges and risks for many
businesses. For one, the wear and tear on connectors and cables can lead to dramatic
increase in maintenance costs. Many businesses find themselves needing to replace
their components as often as every three months.

These systems are also often hardwired – an expensive process that requires the work
of a specialized electrician, and can take several hours to complete.

An even bigger challenge than increased repair costs is the significant risk of
unplanned downtime.Even with regular care and maintenance, traditional hardwired
systems in industrial settings still carry a high risk of failing unexpectedly. If a
specialized electrician isn’t available, these situations can last several hours, if not days
– and often at the worst possible time, like at the height of production. The
productivity and material losses caused by this downtime can lead to even higher
costs than planned downtime.

I think most significantly, cord set failure can be a huge safety risk. As cables wear
down, the risk of a fire increases – and many cables don’t have the fire-retardant
properties they need to minimize damage, which means a fire could cause devastating
damage before being extinguished.
Figure 2: Food and Beverage Production Line

Protecting Your Connected Systems 

To prevent the risk of connector and cable failure in industrial environments, many
businesses are turning to wash-down cord sets – which can be an effective alternative
to typical hardwired cord sets.

These cord sets are uniquely designed for various extreme settings. They were
originally created for industries that require regular, high-intensity cleanings –
commonly referred to as 'wash-downs' or 'splash zones.'
So how are wash-down cord sets an upgrade over traditional hardwired system you
might ask?

For one, wash-down cord sets enable streamlined cord set installation and
replacement.Technicians can quickly and easily attach cables to receptacles on a
sensor at one end of a system, and the control cabinet at the other, which enables
them to replace or install damaged or outdated cord sets in as little as 15 or 20
minutes – all without requiring the assistance of a specialized electrician.

Wash-down cord sets are also designed and built to withstand all the harsh conditions
you find in industrial environments, from extreme temperatures, shock, vibrations and
pressure – to a wide range of caustic cleaning agents. This dramatically lowers the risk
of unplanned downtime, and lowers the maintenance costs of having to continually
replace outdated or damaged cables.
Figure 3: Washdown Connectors Installed

At the same time, the fast and easy process of removing and installing wash-down
cord sets allows businesses to efficiently perform preventative maintenance and
replacements.

Finding the Right Wash-Down Connector

Not all wash-down connectors are created equal. Here are the key characteristics of
the cord sets that deliver the best performance and value:

• ECOLAB certification – which ensures that that the connectors can withstand a
wide range of caustic chemicals used during cleaning and other industrial
processes.
• UL approval – which demonstrates that the cord sets are suited for
temperatures ranging from -40?C to more than 105?C – and can protect against
the outbreak and spreading of fires.
• Pre-installation factory testing – which dramatically reduces troubleshooting
during installation, expedites the time the systems are up and running, and
helps ensures that the product will consistently perform as expected.

In today's world, unplanned downtime can be catastrophic for many businesses – and
ensuring the reliability of cord sets and cables in automated systems needs to be a top
priority for plant managers. And when it comes to performance and ease of use, wash-
down cord sets are a significant improvement over traditional hardwired systems.
Figure 4: Traditional Hardwired System

How are you ensuring the reliability of cord sets and cabling components used
for connected automated systems? We’d love to hear how.

Related Links
• PDF: Lumberg Automation Wash-Down Connectors
• Press Release: Belden's New Connectors Designed to Perform in Extreme
Wash-Down Environments
• Webpage: Food & Beverage – Robust Solutions that Meet Compliance
• PDF: Solutions for the Food & Beverage Industry
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