Cavotec Micro-control AS managing director Geir Paulsen said: “The unit is unique, as it is a development on our present solution MC-3000 EX.”

He added: “With the new MC-3-6 EX operating with 34 digital and 32 analogue functions, we offer the market an even more versatile remote for Zone 1 and other EEx applications.”

Micro-control AS was established in 1984 with the business idea to develop, produce and market electronic products. The first product was a radio remote control designed for use in the agricultural sector. “Since that moment, we have been devoting our time to develop products with the aim to become the technologically leading company in our field,” said Paulsen.

Today, Cavotec Micro-control AS has a large market share in radio remote controls, and, it said, the integration of Micro-control by the Cavotec Group is giving further opportunities for continued expansion into the global market.

Said Paulsen: “Cavotec has its own sales companies in 25 countries, plus partners in many other countries around the world, and this enables us to give a fast service and continuous customer attention and support.”

The remote control is basically intended for use with larger applications like offshore installations, marine application, cranes and winches and larger machines like stackers or reclaimers.

“In the development of the new MC-3-6 EX, we have focused on operational performance and a design that would ease the daily usage,” explained Paulse. He said an issue like swapping batteries during operation is known to be somewhat of a problem – especially on machines with long start-up cycles. But he added: “Often we see that the application needs to be powered off, before swapping batteries, after which the operator must run through the entire start up process again. To avoid this, we have made a double battery compartment, enabling ‘hot swapping’ and thereby not interrupting the operation.”

The remote control is built around an anti-static case, with the option of having the controls custom-made to fit all specific requirements.

Paulse said: “Often we see that customers have made some changes in the layout and functionality of their machines. In order to reflect the same functionality in the remote control, we are able to manufacture almost any layout that the customer wants.”

The terminal is ergonomically designed, which allows the operator to rest their arms on the terminal thereby spreading the load to the padded waist belt, enabling long uninterrupted operation. The four times 20 character display is logically integrated into the terminal, and angled towards the operator to improve readability. It has the option of having duplex communication, meaning that alarm and status messages are displayed in the LCD panel.

A further safety factor is the option of cable control. Paulsen explained: “On some applications, the customer wants to have the possibility of operating the machine, even in the case of a shutdown in the normal communications link. To offer this, and thereby enhance the safety of the system, we have made cable control possible. You simply connect the receiver unit and the remote unit via a cable, and operate the system as you would do over radio.”

The company said the new product can adapt all the different BUS systems available, like Ether Net, ProfiBus, CANOpen, Device Net etc to enable trouble-free communication. The fieldbus receiver has encapsulation class EEx d or optional EEx e, and is intrinsically safe according to EEx ib, so that the receiver can operate under the same conditions as the remote control.