(logo rattling)
- You may recognize these products from some previous videos
that Gary and I have made.
They're part of the X-CEE range
of industrial connectors from Lewden.
Now in those videos, we discussed many of the key features
and benefits including the ergonomic grip,
the ease of connection inside here and cable retention,
the impact rating, the high IP ratings
including the elusive and little known IP69,
and just the sheer sturdiness
and build quality of these accessories.
Now these features extend to the whole X-CEE range.
But for this video, the one specific feature
that we just want to talk about a little bit more,
and it's actually the switching mechanism
on the socket or connector part of this arrangement.
Now Lewden referred to the switching mechanism
as the rotor switch.
First of all, we want to stress
how much this switch improves health and safety.
Let's face it, there's probably not one of us
who haven't connected the plug into a live socket
at some point in our careers.
And probably not given it a second thought.
Well, if like me, you have, and if like me,
you thought that's really not such a big deal,
please watch the following footage shot by Lewden
in a test laboratory.
We're going to see what happens when a faulty load
is connected to a live outlet.
(mysterious music)
(electricity zaps)
Now I'm sure you'd agree, you wouldn't want any part
of yourself near that plug-in socket
when it gets plugged in like that.
It's going to do some damage to you
and did you see the recoil on the plug?
It just blasted out of the connector there, didn't it?
So how does the X-CEE socket help
to prevent this from happening?
Well the main way is that it has a built in interlock.
Now this prevents you from powering the socket up
without something plugged in.
As you can see here,
I physically just can't operate the switch.
The cap on the connector also screws on
to cover the terminals up.
Although that's really more to maintain the IP rating
of the outlet when it doesn't have a plug connected to it
rather than to prevent contact with live parts.
Then when you actually connect a plug into the connector,
it becomes possible to energize
just by twisting the switch here this ring.
See that?
And once that's twisted, the interlock now prevents you
from removing the plug under load.
As you can see here, it just won't come apart.
However, there's an additional safety feature
in that the plug from the X-CEE range
has a corresponding ring that twists onto the connector
and maintains the IP rating of the connector
even before you energize the load.
So what kind of a difference does this make
in terms of safety?
Well, let's watch the follow up footage
of the same fault but this time with the benefit
of the built-in switch interlock and locking ring.
(mysterious music)
(electricity zaps)
So the X-CEE plug-in socket arrangement
clearly contained the fault and made sure
that if someone was physically operating
that rotary switch on the connector,
they wouldn't have been harmed by the discharge of energy
that was taking place due to the fault.
Clearly then, this range of industrial connectors
has the capacity to create a safer workplace.
All you've got to do is make the connection,
tighten up the connecting ring on the plug,
and then energize.
And then we won't see the disastrous effects
that we saw in the earlier footage
should we be connecting a faulty load up.
But what else makes this switch here special?
Well, it's what's called an AC23 switch.
Now this AC23 business is what's called
a utilization category and it helps us to identify
what the switch is capable of controlling.
This switch having a utilization category of AC23
means that it's capable of switching motor loads
or other highly inductive loads.
So that makes it absolutely perfect
for industrial environments.
As we know, when we turn the motor on,
it can draw a very large in-rush current
for a brief period of time, which is why the AC23 rating
of a switch is very important
because it means that the connections inside here
are capable of dealing with that large temporary current.
A nice additional feature of this switch
is that it can actually be locked off.
As you can see here, there's a little bit
of the molding that's been left with a hole through it.
And for being small, it looks really, really solid.
That's not gonna give way.
What's interesting is that we can see
that the same piece of molding mirrored on the other side
of the switching mechanism, which means
that as well as being able to lock this connector off,
we can also lock it into the on position.
Now, why would you ever wanna do that?
Well, you may be using this to connect
to a piece of essential equipment
that you wouldn't want anyone to accidentally
or maliciously disconnect, in which case locking this
in the on position would be really helpful.
Now I think this range of industrial connectors
is a really good indicator that being an electrician
is actually becoming more and more
about being an engineer than a tradesperson.
It seems like there's an awful lot more
for us electricians to think about
even when it comes to something
as seemingly simple as an industrial plug-in socket.
So the next time you need to install one, think about that.
Think about the footage that we just watched
earlier in the video and think about using the X-CEE range
from Lewden because they're clearly thinking
about how we can make installations better and safer.
Thank you very much for watching.
(logo rattles)