Marshalling Box (used in UK) - comments please

Hi all, a few Q's re: Marshalling Boxes.

If you don't know what they are, please refer to Data sheets linked from the bottom of this CIS page :
http://www2.clipsal.com/cis/technic..._management_system/output_units/other_outputs

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Way back in the 90's when C-Bus1 came out, we invisioned that the "marshalling box" concept was a great way of providing ultimate flexibility and reducing cabling costs in commercial applications.

However, in Australia the installers have decided that putting all C-Bus units in one location is the best way - and then running hundreds of metres of cables from that central point out to the luminaires. This method significantly increases the cost and cabling complexity whilst severely reducing flexibility - when cabled that way everything is basically "hard-wired", which negates many of the advantages of having a control system !

Our company is involved in quite a few Commerical fitouts, and I would appreciate comments about this "UK system" so that we can investigate it's use here in Australia. So...

Do these Marshalling Boxes actually sell / get used ?

If so, is this the preferred way of wiring C-Bus into commercial installations ?

Any other comments about them ?

Thanks very much, John

 

Marshalling boxes

I saw them used a fair bit over the other side of the pond.
They have the advantage that you can pre-wire the chassis, then come in later when all the mess and mucking around is done and slip in the control gear.
The UK ones were pretty compact and a great idea for commercial applications above tiles ceilings.
I figured there must be some regulatory reason they weren't used here, as they're a winner in my books.

 

No regulatory reason that I can find (in AS3000 etc) - To me it seems it's just that electrician's can't seem to get over the idea of having "everything in one place". I've discussed this subject quite a few times over the years... nobody has given me any valid reason why all the C-Bus equipment *must* be mounted in a centralised switchboard...

In my new company WE pay for the labour and material (for jobs we sub-contract out). Therefore, anything that saves in OVERALL project cost and hassle is definitely worth investigating. Apart from anything else, this would give us a considerable competitive edge

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I guess we would do things a bit differently here in Aus - probably couldn't use the Wieland plugs (AS3000 "flex as fixed wiring"). But instead could just have places to wire looms into... in effect, it'd just be like mounting the C-Bus in separate 12-gand enclosures in the ceiling cavity, with short runs out to the loads (which would plug in as-per normal commercial wiring).

We did that precise thing recently on 2 very large lighting showrooms - individual 15 module enclosures, each with relay or dimmer and a 20A MCB. C-Bus was pre-terminated with RJ45 sockets (extension leads), all outputs wired to 3 or 4m TPS with a socket on the end. Everything was pre-wired, tested and programmed in our factory... on site they bolted the box to the ceiling, hard-wired the mains input, plugged in the C-Bus (RJ45's) and plugged in the loads.

The on-site wiring time was ummm... a few minutes per (average) 10 loads, which saved us considerable grief as there was something like 400-500 loads per site. That would have been almost impossible to manage if all the C-Bus was centrally located, the amount of cables required (and how to hide those cables), and the sheer volume of Output Devices meant that an "all-in'one-place" config would have been very expensive and messy.

Many have said that having it all in one place makes maintenance easier... well, in this case, if there was any failure it only affected the immediate area, and which unit was affected was instantly recognisable. It's simple to find a unit if you document your installs properly.