Fieldbus Foundation introduces cable registration

The Fieldbus Foundation has launched its own cable registration process, providing greater assurance to automation end-users that their wiring systems are suitable for fieldbus system operation.

Belden, Northwire, Phoenix Contact and Rockbestos-Surprenant Cable Corporation (RSCC) are the first cable suppliers to pass the Fieldbus Foundation registration process.

In November 2007, the Fieldbus Foundation released its H1 cable test specification (Document FF-844) for use by manufacturers developing cables for Foundation fieldbus H1 (31.25 kbit/s) installations.

The specification test cases, based upon the IEC 61158-2:2003 standard for Type A cable, include (but are not limited to) impedance, capacitive unbalance, connector pin-outs, and attenuation.

Cable manufacturers submit their test reports to the foundation, which provides official cable registration.

Fieldbus Foundation manager, fieldbus products, Stephen Mitschke, said: 'Registration signifies that a cable is suitable for any H1 fieldbus application, including high-temperature and corrosive environments.'.

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