MACHINE SAFEGUARDING: NO DEAD ZONES

COMPACT SAFETY LIGHT CURTAIN WITH NO DEAD ZONES
A compact, low-cost Type 4 Safety Light Curtain is offered by Banner Engineering Corporation (Minneapolis, MN). The new EZ-SCREEN LP (Low Profile) provides continuous protection for the entire length of the screen, with no dead zones. Its two-piece design (emitter and receiver) with integrated controls eliminates the need for a separate controller.

The curtain is designed for easy mounting and reliable operation on machinery used in a wide range of industries including automotive, electronics and semiconductor, materials handling and metalworking. Screens are available in safety yellow, brushed anodized aluminum for a more aesthetic appearance where yellow is not required, and a nickel plated ESD (electrostatic discharge) safe housing for semiconductor applications. Units are available with 14 mm resolution for finger detection or 25 mm resolution for hand detection. Protection heights range from 270 to 1810 mm with detection range up to 7 m and response times are 8 to 43 ms.

The 28 x 26 mm housing profile fits on small machines with minimal protrusion. Brackets for end or side mounting are included, with rotating fasteners for fine alignment. Additional mounting hardware to accommodate almost any machine configuration is available. Cascading units to guard multiple sides with no overlap will be introduced soon. Setup is easy without a PC, using DIP switches and a seven-segment LED display and a bar graph indicator showing diagnostic information. Contiguous beams can be blanked for situations where part of the machine would block the curtain.

EZ-SCREEN LP is certified to Type 4, Category 4 PLe and SIL 3. It also exceeds OSHA/ANSI Control Reliability requirements. Banner Engineering is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of vision sensors, photoelectric and ultrasonic sensors, fiber optic assemblies, indicator lights, machine guarding systems, precision measurement and inspection systems and wireless network products. The company provides local application support worldwide. www.bannerengineering.com

BETTER PROTECTION LONG RANGE:
30 METER PERIMETER GUARDS
Tapeswitch (Farmingdale, NY) released a series of Perimeter Guards designed for safety and security applications. This new guard provides a higher resolution (100 mm) over our standard line of perimeter guards (two, three and four beams), with a maximum range of 30 m. These new perimeter guards are available in all three series of Tapeswitch light curtains, (B, GS120, and GS140) with protection lengths of 300 mm, 600 mm, 900 mm, 1200 mm, and 1800 mm.

All of these products and more can be found in the 2010 Tapeswitch Light Curtain Catalog. For the past 50 years, Tapeswitch Corporation has been a major player in the development and manufacturing of sensors for safety applications, and currently has the widest range of safety mat, sensing edges, bumpers and light curtain products available anywhere in the marketplace. In addition to these products, Tapeswitch now carries trapped key and non contact safety interlocks. www.tapeswitch.com

SENSOR-LESS MACHINE STANDSTILL MONITORING
Omron Scientific Technologies, Inc. (Fremont, CA) introduces the G9SX-SM Standstill Safety Monitoring Unit. The G9SX-SM monitors standstill status for machines with varied hazardous part stop times, with no sensors required. The system can operate out of the box without any need for sensitivity adjustments, or users can manually adjust system sensitivity to the specific needs of each machine. Additionally, it can be used with inverter-controlled systems without any threat of malfunction due to the inverter?s dynamic brake or auto-tuning functions.

When a hazard does not stop immediately it is necessary to prevent access to the hazardous area until the motion has stopped. The G9SX-SM improves productivity by minimizing the delay time caused by such hazards by sensing the stop motion instead of waiting for a count down timer to expire.

The G9SX-SM detects back electromagnetic force (BEMF) that is generated when the motor rotates to determine whether the motor is rotating or in standstill condition. It determines that the motor has stopped when it detects that the BEMF falls below a set criterion. The system operates on 24 VDC, but can monitor motors up to 480VAC. It provides 3 safety standstill detection outputs and 2 auxiliary outputs, and is available with spring-cage or screw terminal blocks. Detailed LED indicators enable easy fault diagnosis.

Standstill and low-speed monitoring is required by international standards for machine tools, printing presses and other applications. The G9SX-SM is certified to all relevant North American and International safety standards, meets Safety Category 4 (EN954-1) requirements, and is engineered to deliver reliable standstill operation in these applications.

Omron Scientific Technologies is a North American provider of automation safeguarding products and services for the semiconductor, automotive, medical, electronics manufacturing, packaging and consumer markets. www.sti.com

GUIDE FOR SAFE MACHINERY
SICK (Minneapolis, MN), a leading manufacturer of sensors, safety systems, machine vision, and automatic identification products for factory and logistics automation, announces the availability of its ?Guidelines for Safe Machinery ? Six Steps to a Safe Machine.? The 116-page, illustrated guide contains safety requirements and guidelines for North America to ensure the safety of machinery and people. It is designed for manufacturers, systems engineers, designers and all individuals who are responsible for machine safety to illustrate various methods of selecting and using protective devices.

The requirements for the protection of machinery and people change more and more with the increasing use of automation. The easy-to-use guide is designed to keep end users and machine builders up-to-date. It briefly outlines laws, regulations and standards for the U.S., Canada, and Mexico and then details six steps to designing a safe machine, including risk assessment, safe machine design, engineering controls, administrative measures, machine validation and operation.

The guide is not a product catalog, but rather provides a comprehensive look at application examples, technical information, possible solutions, as well as where to go for additional resources. The safety guide was developed based on SICK?s extensive expert knowledge, application expertise, and 60 years of experience. www.sickusa.com

ULTRA-SLIM, HIGH RESOLUTION SAFETY LIGHT CURTAINS
Pepperl+Fuchs (Twinsburg, OH) introduces SLCS and SLCT Series Safety Light Curtains. Available in IEC 61496-compliant Type 4 or Type 2 versions, these high resolution and ultra-slim safety light curtains reduce the safe mounting distance with respect to the point-of-operation hazard enabling them to be installed with a ?built-in? look and feel, even in the most space restrictive applications. The small footprint (just 20 mm wide x 30 mm deep) and optional quick-release mounting bracket facilitates fast, flexible mounting.

SLCS Type 4 and SLCT Type 2 series safety light curtains use standard M12 micro connector cordsets, and feature completely integrated control electronics and solid state OSSDs for a fully self-contained 2-box system that delivers simplified wiring and setup. No separate control module is necessary, nor is a synchronization cable connection required between the transmitter and receiver. The provide a maximum sensing range of 8 m (26 ft), are available with beam spacings for finger (14 mm), hand (30 mm) and body detection (60 and 90 mm) configurations, and are tested to provide reliable operation in temperatures ranging from -22 deg F to +140 deg F (-30 deg C to +60 deg C).

An innovative quick-release clamp bracket facilitates fast installation, removal or replacement of individual light curtains without requiring any tools or other mounting hardware. In most cases light curtains can be replaced without disturbing transmitter and receiver alignment. The mounting brackets can be attached to any of the three sides of the light curtain for flexible 3-sided mounting. SLCS and SLCT safety light curtains also facilitate the option to have top-to-top mounting with no dead zone.

Pepperl+Fuchs pioneered the development of proximity sensors 50 years ago, and has set the standard for innovation and quality ever since. www.pepperl-fuchs.com

LASER SAFETY ROLL-UP BARRIER
In order to meet the increasing need of portable and flexible large area laser protection, Laservision LLC (St. Paul, MN)is offering a new flexible barrier solution for temporary laser safety. The system is ideally used during service, maintenance or demonstration of laser systems.

The new system is characterized by a unique flexibility combined with high stability. The laser safety Roll-Up consists of one lightweight certified laser safety curtain shelter. The curtain element is 3 ft x 6 ft in dimension and is held in place by two metal profiles and put upright by a special metal expanding system. The design of the lower holder and the support structure keep the whole system securely in place without the need of any additional fixation.

Roll-Up elements can be connected together with a velcro strap to form a larger enclosure or laser safe area. Due to the high flexibility without a rigid frame it is possible to connect and form stable 90 deg corners. The Roll-Up features flexibility and mobility, it is the ideal laser safety solution for temporary use in all fields of laser technology. Highlights include:
? Self-supporting,free standing, flexible

? Easy and fast mounting
? Light weight
? Combination of Roll-Ups by Velcro-strap
? Easy construction of corners and enclosures
? Includes transportation bag and foldable telescope frame
desi.lave@lasersafety.com, www.lasersafety.com

TRAPPED KEY INTERLOCKS
Equipment from industrial safety specialist Castell (Erlanger, KY) has been added to Tapeswitch Corporation?s product line up. Castell?s portfolio of trapped key interlocks are now available in the U.S. through Tapeswitch. Castell?s trapped key interlocks ensure that personnel follow a predetermined sequence of tasks to control process risks and equipment hazards. Valves, actuators, switches, doors and processes are physically locked in a state until the right key is used. By using a trapped-key system, the next stop in any process can only be unlocked and started once the previous step has been completed and the appropriate key released, guaranteeing the correct sequence of events.

Trapped key interlocking can be used in a wide variety of applications, such as machine guarding, machine control, switch gear, valve interlocking, process control and most importantly, personnel safety. For instance: in a robot cell where the robot needs to be disabled for safe personnel entry, Castell?s trapped key products ensure that a key is only released once the robot has completed a full cycle. Once the key is removed, the robot is disarmed and the key is then used in the access interlock to obtain entry to the now safe hazard zone.

These products complement Tapeswitch?s line of electrical and photo-electric safety equipment which features a wide range of switching and sensing products, such as safety mats, sensing edges and bumpers, touchpads, and vehicle sensing devices. Since the inception of the industrial safety industry, Castell has been a leader in trapped key interlocking technology that goes beyond meeting legislation to create the safest working environments possible. blipsman@tapeswitch.com, www.tapeswitch.com