In the deployment of industrial networks, the physical installation form directly determines the equipment integration efficiency and scene adaptability. There are significant differences between the DIN rail-mounted and rack-mounted versions of the industrial switch 8-port: The width of the DIN rail model is usually 105mm, the depth is 125mm, and the weight is only 0.7kg. It can be directly installed in the electrical cabinet of the standard 35mm rail (conforming to the IEC 60715 standard), saving more than 80% of the cabinet space. The width of the 1U height rack-mounted equipment is fixed at 483mm (19-inch standard), the depth reaches 220mm, and the average mass is 4.2kg, which requires dedicated network cabinets for support. In the case of automotive assembly line transformation, Siemens engineers deployed DIN rail-mounted switches for a certain stamping workshop. Each meter of the rail-mounted switch can integrate 7 devices, increasing the space utilization rate of the control cabinet from 65% to 92% and significantly optimizing the layout density of the production line.
Environmental tolerance is a core consideration in industrial scenarios. The DIN rail-mounted switch adopts a fanless compact design, with an operating temperature range of -40℃ to +75℃ (conforming to EN 50155 rail transit standard), humidity tolerance of 0%-95% non-condensation, and can withstand a vibration intensity of up to 5g (frequency 5Hz-150Hz) and a mechanical shock intensity of 50g (lasting for 11ms). Adapt to the high-vibration environment beside the motor control cabinet. In contrast, although rack-mounted equipment also supports industrial temperatures ranging from -25℃ to +60℃, the average noise of the fan cooling system is 55dB, and additional noise reduction treatment is required in sensitive areas such as sterile workshops in pharmaceutical factories. According to Schneider Electric’s 2023 Steel Plant Automation Report, the MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures) of rail-mounted equipment has reached 450,000 hours, which is approximately 18% higher than that of rack-mounted equipment and is more suitable for direct deployment in the control box at the end of the production line.
Maintainability and expansion costs constitute a significant economic difference. The rail-mounted equipment adopts spring terminals or quick-pull connectors. The average wiring time for a single port is 3.2 seconds, and it only takes 90 seconds to replace the entire unit in case of a fault, significantly reducing downtime losses (According to ABB’s estimation, the hourly downtime cost of an automotive production line is as high as ￥218,000). Rack-mounted products support hot-swappable modular design (such as redundant power modules). In critical scenarios like the central control room of petrochemical enterprises, a dual power configuration can achieve a high availability of 99.999%, but the price of a single backup power module can reach 30% of the main body of the equipment. In the 2022 smart factory transformation case, Delta Electronics adopted rail-mounted switches to reduce the deployment cost of network nodes to ￥1,450 per point, saving 41% of the budget compared to the ring-mounted solution, and reducing the demand for later operation and maintenance personnel by 60%.
There is a clear distinction between security authentication and the presentation of applicable scenarios. Rail-mounted equipment usually passes certifications such as UL 61010-2-201 (Safety of Industrial Control equipment) and IEC 60068-2-27 (Impact Test). In Ex Zone 2 hazardous areas (such as explosion-proof zones in BASF chemical plants), it needs to be used in conjunction with flameproof enclosures, with a protection level reaching IP67. The rack equipment focuses on complying with NEBS Level 3 (Seismic standard for Telecommunication Equipment) and GR-63-CORE (Environmental adaptability), and is more suitable for deployment in data centers or equipment rooms with sufficient space. When the automated terminal of Qingdao Port was upgraded in 2021, the outdoor gantry crane control unit adopted DIN rail-mounted industrial switches that could withstand salt spray corrosion environments (with a salt spray test time of 720 hours), while the central monitoring room selected rach-mounted equipment to build a double-star topology, reducing energy consumption by 15% through 48V high-voltage direct current power supply. This scenario-based selection strategy has reduced the overall network failure rate by 37.6%, verifying the complementary value of the two types of devices in the industrial architecture.