Harsh Industrial Environments

RF Interfaces for Secure Industrial Communication Networks

A control network carries the instructions that move machinery. It runs through a building full of variable-speed drives, welding plant and switching gear, all of which radiate. Keeping that traffic intact and keeping it contained are the same engineering problem, and both are solved in the shield.

PLC / SCADA

≥90 dB Screening

Redundant Ring

Shielded

Deterministic

≥90 dB

Screening

-40° to +125°

Temperature

IP67

Ingress Rating

Design Notes

Keeping Control Traffic Intact

Five requirements for a network that has to be deterministic on a noisy floor.

Transfer Impedance

Screening effectiveness is really a transfer-impedance specification. A braid that looks adequate at 100 MHz can be poor where drive harmonics actually sit.

Shield Termination

A shield terminated through a pigtail loses most of its benefit at exactly the frequencies that matter. Circumferential termination is not optional here.

Ground Loops

Plant grounding is rarely ideal. Where the two ends of a run sit at different potentials, the shield carries current, and that current becomes noise.

Physical Protection

Cable on a factory floor gets stepped on, run over and caught. Mechanical robustness is a signal-integrity requirement in disguise.

Segregation

Routing control cable alongside power is the most common cause of intermittent faults. Separation distances are part of the design, not the installation.

Reference Data

Typical Network Requirements

Plant standards govern. These are representative conditions.

Parameter	Typical Requirement	Relevant Series	Note
Screening effectiveness	≥ 90 dB	Double-braid assemblies	Across the drive harmonic range
Shield termination	360° circumferential	EMI backshells	No pigtails
Ingress protection	IP67 mated	Sealed series	Wash-down areas
Temperature	-40 °C to +125 °C	Industrial series	Near plant and drives
Mechanical	Crush and abrasion rated	Armoured jackets	Floor-level routing
Segregation	Per plant standard	All series	Separation from power runs

Our Role

What We Supply for Control Networks

High-Screening Assemblies

Double-braid and solid-shield constructions specified by transfer impedance, not by braid coverage percentage alone.

Terminated Properly

Circumferential shield termination through EMI backshells, so the screening the cable offers actually reaches the equipment.

Built to the Plant Layout

Assemblies made to your actual routing with the right jacket for each zone, so nothing is spliced on site.

Selected Products

Interfaces for Control Networks

Typical starting points for shielded industrial networks. Send us the plant layout and we will quote the set.

RF Interfaces for Secure Industrial Communication Networks

Keeping Control Traffic Intact

Typical Network Requirements

What We Supply for Control Networks

Interfaces for Control Networks

High-Power 18GHz Low-Loss RF Coaxial Cable – Model CFP460

N Female 4-Hole Flange Mount RF Connector – Field Replaceable, 18.35mm Hole Spacing, 0.38mm Pin Diameter

N Male to N Male System Interconnect Low-Loss RF Cable Assembly – Use CFS830H Coax

N Male to N Male RF Adapter

Specifying a Control Backbone?

RF Interfaces for Secure Industrial Communication Networks

Keeping Control Traffic Intact

Typical Network Requirements

What We Supply for Control Networks

Interfaces for Control Networks

High-Power 18GHz Low-Loss RF Coaxial Cable – Model CFP460

N Female 4-Hole Flange Mount RF Connector – Field Replaceable, 18.35mm Hole Spacing, 0.38mm Pin Diameter

N Male to N Male System Interconnect Low-Loss RF Cable Assembly – Use CFS830H Coax

N Male to N Male RF Adapter

More in Harsh Industrial Environments

Specifying a Control Backbone?