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Oct 14, 2024

Eaton combines drawout molded-case circuit breakers with switchboards, panelboards to maximize uptime in critical environments

By Paul Dvorak | September 10, 2012 A small detail of the base cassette in a Panelboard. A diversified industrial manufacturer says it has introduced a circuit-breaker maintenance product that

By Paul Dvorak | September 10, 2012

A small detail of the base cassette in a Panelboard.

A diversified industrial manufacturer says it has introduced a circuit-breaker maintenance product that provides completely front-accessible and front-connected equipment with ease of maintenance, enhancing productivity and operational uptime while minimizing the total footprint of distribution equipment. The new two and three pole, molded-case circuit breakers (MCCBs) come in a mechanical drawout design in panelboards and switchboards.

The drawout MCCB switchboard and drawout MCCB panelboard from Eaton Corp. may be substituted for nearly any traditional application, but are intended to meet the needs of mission critical industries that desire maximum uptime to protect critical loads, data integrity, and operational continuity.

“The new drawout MCCB compatible distribution equipment gives businesses confidence that mission critical operations will experience lower downtime, decreased physical footprint, and simplified maintenance,” said Eaton’s Clayton Tychkowsky, senior VP and GM, Commercial Distribution and Control Assemblies Division.

On both units, drawout feeder MCCBs are available in two and three-pole offerings from 20 to 600A. Breakers on the drawout MCCB units are inserted and removed by a mechanical removal system similar to other drawout designs associated with switchgear. However, these breakers are horizontally mounted in a traditional panelboard group mounted manner, providing greater density and reduced space.

The MCCBs have a drawout cassette that has two distinct parts. The cassette “base” is specially designed so the lineside connections to the panelboard or switchboard’s vertical bus and the loadside connection to the feeder conductors can be permanent. The “drawout” cassette allows removing the breaker and breaker accessory connections.

A viewing window in the drawout cassette lets personnel visually inspect the breaker status along with a position indicator on the base cassette. An external racking port allows access to the racking mechanism to draw out the breaker, while handles attached to the deadfront help easily remove the breaker. A pigtail wiring harness, factory-wired from the breaker accessory ports, contains a pull-apart terminal block that attaches the permanently mounted female terminal block located on the base cassette.Eaton Corp.www.eaton.com/switchboards