A deal between an entrepreneurial data and cable management business and power distribution specialist Electrak is set to introduce a revolutionary spin on the traditional socket: a bank for commercial applications where each point can rotate 360°, even under load.
Its inventors see an international market for the technology, with a host of related products in the offing and the provision of remote switch analysis of any equipment connected to the outlets under development.
The brainchild of Jez Rowe of fledgling business Ideim, Rotasoc is aimed at alleviating the problems of socket access angles in workplaces, in particular IT-heavy applications. After several years of development Rotasoc was informally launched at the Workplace show late last year, but in the next few weeks it is expected to be officially launched by Ideim and Electrak through its wholesaler and specifier channels.
So why is everyone getting so excited about a socket bank? Well, the Rotasoc system consists of modular units of rotatable sockets that can be easily and safely linked together. It operates as efficiently in network racking as it does in floor trunking systems, dado trunking or workstations.
The key to Rotasoc is a busbar design that eliminates all internal wiring and screws, enabling the sockets to be completely rotated. It is rated at 16 or 32 A – the latter a feature designed for heavy computer users – and allows connection of any cable or supply type. Each module can contain a double array of three vertically-stacked 32 A busbar conductors to distribute power to the socket outlets. The modules simply connect into the end of each unit and lock together or can be interlinked to other units using interconnections.
"We've had the product ready since late last year," says Ideim partner Tim Sinton-Hewitt, "but it's only been in the last few weeks that it has been ready for a formal launch. That's taking place pretty much from now. Electrak is the licensed manufacturer in the UK and we're dividing the market along our key strengths, so we will be distributing Rotasoc to the architectural, space planning and workplace market and Electrak will be using their expertise in the wholesale and specifier channels."
Sinton-Hewitt believes that the product's strength lies in its wide range of applications. "It can handle normal supplies, clean power, dual power, and we'll be moving into data and voice applications. And until legislation changes at the start of this year Rotasoc was the only modular power system capable of meeting the requirements of section 607: high protective conductor current applications. But our competitors have done that using metal or aluminium housings, Rotasoc is moulded plastics."
Ideim is a company based on the product. Incorporated in December 1997 as Techsol, it renamed recently and claims to have spent more than £650 000 in design, development and tooling for the technology. It sees Rotasoc as the basis of a product range rather than a one-trick pony. It has already completed a project with cable management specialist 2IQ for its Tech Trolley. "The principle behind the 'TT' is total flexibility," says 2IQ's managing director Stewart Colborne. "People can move the trolley to any location, where it then becomes an integral part of the workstation or workstation system. It's an all in one unit that Rotasoc has helped make unique."
However, for Ideim to move from the specialist market to the mass market it clearly needed a large-scale production partner, hence Electrak's involvement. Its current portfolio fits neatly with Rotasoc and – although the company declined to give an exact launch date – it confirmed that the equipment is already available and that a launch is "imminent".
"Ideim was looking for a company with the type of facilities that we can offer, such as mass production capabilities," says an Electrak spokesperson. "It's a really nice product. Very clever. We feel that it fits ideally with what we already offer as an underfloor power distributor."
"The thing about Rotasoc is that we've only just begun," affirms Sinton-Hewitt. "We believe that the design of the product will address a real problem with access angles for sockets in offices with high IT requirements and space constraints. We're starting in the UK but we want to expand this out globally once we have established the technology."
Technically speaking
Rotasoc is a modular power distribution system constructed largely of fire retardant ABS injection mouldings. It comes in two, three or four socket gangs; additional infeed modules allow connection of external wiring. The modules can be assembled to create socket arrays, locked to each other via a simple cam-lock system. Power is conducted through each module via a busbar system consisting of up to two arrays of three vertically- stacked conductors. The socket assembly can rotate freely in any direction with power conducted to it from the busbar via integral three-circuit conductors. Outlets have been designed for use with the 13 A UK plug as well as European and American types, and the assemblies are ultrasonically welded to enhance strength and reduce manufacturing time. Socket modules require no hard wiring, soldering or screws and the busbars and socket assemblies effectively float inside the casework. The two-array busbar system allows socket arrays to function as a true ring main, giving constant voltage to each socket. Alternatively, a single-array busbar system provides radial facilities. The two-array busbar also allows two voltages to be supplied in the same socket module.Source
Electrical and Mechanical Contractor
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