Cabling & accessories for a pick-by-light system

You will learn how to wire a pick-by-light system. In this article, we explain various methods and options for doing so. You will also find out which accessories are required.

Supply lines from the controller

The cabling is very flexible and simple in design. A single 4-wire cable connects the mounting rails to each other and to the controller. The controller supplies the pick-by-light compartment displays with power and data and forms a link between the displays and the control server (LUCA-Server).

Up to 4 supply lines can be connected to each controller via pluggable connectors. The total length of the supply line should not exceed 100 m.

Different types of cabling

To achieve a high degree of flexibility, the cabling can be implemented as serial, parallel, or a mix of both. The PTF-BUS was specially designed to enable mixed cabling over long distances.

Serial

In serial cabling, two connection terminals are installed in a mounting rail. One at the beginning and one at the end of the rail. This means that the rails are connected in series in a row. The end is continuously connected to the beginning.

The maximum length of the rails and cables depends on the number of connected compartment displays and, based on experience, should not exceed 200 m.

Parallel wiring

With parallel wiring, only a single double connection terminal is used in each rail. Two cables are then connected to one terminal. This means that the mounting rails are connected to one point of the supply line, as in a parallel connection.

mixed operation

Both of the above methods can also be used in mixed operations without any restrictions. This feature gives the pick-by-light system great flexibility in terms of cabling.