Company: Hardy Process Solutions

Website: www.hardysolutions.com

Equipment Snapshot: Hardy Process Solutions now offers certified weighing components for use in classified Hazardous Areas. Hardy’s scales, load cells and junction boxes meet common national and local safety standards with appropriate levels of certified protection for different application environments such as Class I / Division 1 and Class II / Division 1.

Intrinsic safety (IS) is a protection technique for safe operation of electrical equipment in hazardous areas by limiting electrical and thermal energy available for ignition to safe levels.  Hazardous (classified) locations might exist in any manufacturing location with vapors, dust or flyings, but are common in large bakeries (flour), plastics manufacturing plants (vapors or dust), chemical plants (vapors), paint-finishing locations (vapors), and grain silos (dust or flyings), to name just a few. 

Hardy recommends using intrinsically safe low-energy components in hazardous areas (including load cells, scales, and summing boxes) and limit power and current to them through intrinsic barriers that prevent energy from crossing over from the safe area. Hardy products for Hazardous Areas include:

• A large number of Intrinsically Safe load cells, including OneMount^™, high-capacity rocker beams, compression load cells, tension load cells and single points
• Junction boxes with Class I, Div. 1,  IECex, and ATEX certifications
• Hardy Floor Scales, Lift Deck Floor Scales and Bench Scales

Hardy Weight Processors, Weight & Rate Controllers and Plug-In Weight Modules use proprietary technologies that have great value for hazardous area applications and confined spaces. The Hardy Process Toolbox is a unique set of productivity tools that support industrial weighing functions. Each tool saves time, increases accuracy, improves efficiency or reduces risk in process weighing applications.

A key benefit of Hardy's Process Toolbox for Hazardous Areas is that calibration and diagnostics of weighing functions can take place in a safe area. Hardy C2 Electronic Calibration allows quick and easy calibration of a weighing system from the safe area. This reduces the risks of bringing test weights into the hazardous area, making it safer for operators with less risk of contamination. Likewise, Integrated Technician performs system diagnostics and helps operators troubleshoot their weighing system from the front panel of the weighing instrument or via the PLC.