A tech writer is asking me "backplane" or "backpan"?
The use is in describing PLCs and the PCB the function cards plug into.
His technical source--an engineer of the PLC manufacturer--insists the term is "backpan".
I've only seen "backplane" but a net search does turn up uses of "backpan" specifically with reference to PLCs.
What say y'all?
Thanks.
I am thinking the backpan is the back part of the cabinet the the backplane is mounted to. The backplane is the part of the PLC chassies that holds the sockets and interconecting wiring for the plugins of the PLC, most often a printed circuit board.
Sometimes the backpan has the DIN rails that hold the small PLCs and relays and such.
Not knowing anything about the subject, I would say a backpan is a shield that covers a backplane.
Ask your customer. The customer is always right!
Fred
Backplane. It's never been called anything else in the roughly 30 years of my career and in all kinds of markets.
Maybe the PLC engineer's ancestors were goldpanners :-)
The backpan is the metal plate onto which is mounted the backplane. The backplane is the pcb onto which connects the various cards of the PLC.
The backpan allows the PLC to be removed from its enclosure without removing the enclosure from the wall.
ChesterW
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