Guiding Light

Quick as a flash: A multi-modular safety system makes flashlight assembly inside this robot work cell much safer.

Manufacturing has evolved to the point that factory workers of a mere generation ago would find it hard to recognize the cleanliness, efficiency, and increased safety of many of today’s most modern production facilities. Yet many manufacturing processes remain inherently dangerous.

SureFire LLC (Fountain Valley, CA) is involved in producing very high level, reliable flashlights for military, law enforcement and consumer use. The company is a recognized industry leader in manufacturing premium high-performance flashlights and weapon accessories for military, law enforcement and consumer markets. As are many manufacturers, SureFire is converting many of its manual production methods into automated processes.

One particular application involves smaller robots that assemble various parts of a flashlight. In this process, not only is the manufacturing process and efficiency important, but also the compliance with applicable safety standards. In a newly-automated process, new technology is being used to improve troubleshooting and diagnosing the system to reduce down-time.

“A robot work cell contains a number of safety devices, including E-stops, light curtains, and safety gate switches, all designed to protect operators and other personnel on the plant floor,” says Daniel Fischer, the vice president of assembly operations for SureFire. “I was looking for a programmable device to not only monitor processes, but to replace six to eight safety relays. This would make the equipment easier to configure and would also require less wiring in the control box.”

During his search, Fischer was introduced to the PNOZ multi-modular safety system from Pilz. The system consists of a base unit with a chip card that communicates with various safety devices while also sending signal out for annunciation of the status of the Safety System. Users of the PNOZ multi-system can save more than 40 percent of engineering, installation, and maintenance time and costs.

“Our benefits are that we are now able to replace between six and eight safety relays in every machine we build, so there’s less wiring and less hardware, which translates into cost savings,” explains Fischer. “It is very easy and intuitive to operate, making configurability a simple matter of drag-and-drop on a PC. And if a robot work cell ever needs to be modified, the ease of changing configurations is a real time-saver.”

Overall, the benefits to SureFire as an end-user equate to shorter engineering and installation times while achieving unquestioned security in monitoring all safety requirements. “We did the analysis, and this was perfect for our application,” adds Fischer.

SureFire LLC, 18300 Mount Baldy Circle, Fountain Valley, CA 92708, 714-545-9444, Fax: 714-545-9537, www.surefire.com.

Pilz Automation Safety L.P., 7150 Commerce Boulevard, Canton, MI 48187, 734-354-0272, Fax: 734-354-3355, www.pilz.com.