Circuit Breakers Mate With Standard Terminal Blocks

Designed to work with voltages up to 250 Vac or 65 Vdc and current ranging from 0.1A to 10A, the 1180 series circuit breakers can replace the fuses commonly used in DIN-rail terminal blocks for protecting factory control equipment. Only 8 mm wide, the compact circuit breakers can be used in any terminal block system that accepts fuses having a SAE J1284 footprint. As is characteristic of thermal circuit breakers, the 1180 series avoids nuisance tripping during harmless short-term surges, as well as protecting against long-term, low-value current overloads. The breakers use a pushbutton actuator to indicate tripped position and to permit fast, easy manual resets after a fault condition. The circuit breakers also are performance tested before being shipped and can be used as an on/off switch for shutting down equipment for maintenance; they also are hot-swappable. Priced at $7 each in volume, the new breakers are said to be roughly one-fifth the cost of typical DIN-rail breakers. The 1180 series can also be purchased with matching terminal blocks, as well as with a LED for remote visual indication of breaker trip status. And a 10-pole, 34A bus is available for connecting a common supply to several blocks. For more details, contact Bill Stewart at E-T-A CIRCUIT BREAKERS, Mt. Prospect, IL. (847) 827-7600.