PROTECTION AND GUARDING IN ROBOT WELDING CELLS

The sophisticated Guardian Defender barrier door features improved controls and more resilient curtain material that is ideal for use in robotic welding cells, material handling, automated assembly, palletizing/packaging machinery and other applications.

Frommelt Safety (Milwaukee, WI) has just introduced the industry’s most sophisticated automated barrier door, the Guardian Defender. Designed to guard machinery, contain processes and protect employees from robotic/machine movement zones, the new door boasts patent-pending upgrades to its non-contact safety switch configuration, control systems and interlocking capabilities. It also features a new, more resilient curtain material that resists a wider array of application driven hazards and offers optional variable frequency drive to control curtain speed.  In addition, it utilizes new quick-disconnect cables, which allow for easier installation and integration than comparable barrier doors.

Like its predecessor, the Slimline, the new Guardian Defender is a high-speed, high-cycle automated door that separates machine operators and manufacturing processes. It is an ideal safe-guarding device for robotic welding cells, material handling, automated assembly, palletizing/packaging machinery and other applications that require electronic safe guarding devices. It also contains fumes, sparks, smoke, mist, flying debris, excess noise and other common manufacturing process by-products.  Additionally, the Guardian Defender’s roll-up design leaves a minimal footprint into the typically crowded manufacturing cell.

The Guardian Defender automated barrier door features a host of innovations, including:

• PLe hold-down mechanism, which locks the door in “down” position to allow for machine “de-energizing” time (necessitated by issues such as roll inertia in the paper industry.)
• Redesigned rotary cam limit switch, encoder positioning and variable frequency drive, to control the curtain’s operating speed and position, dramatically improving the adjustability of door position, speed and control.
• Non-contact interlock switches, manufactured by Jokab, Pilz, Schmersal and Allen Bradley. These provide up to PLe specifications per EN ISO 13849-1 when integrated properly.
• Designed with new EN 10218-2 specifications in mind.

“The Guardian Defender is the most feature-rich automated barrier door ever manufactured by Frommelt Safety, said product manager Eric Esson. “It takes into account all aspects of the new regulations and the demands of the industry as a whole. Given the new OSHA (ISO 13849-1) and RIA (EN 10218-1) regulations, it should appeal to a wider variety of industries than any of our previous automatic barrier doors, including new manufacturing processes and industrial applications including conveyors, industrial elevators and  palletizing applications. Additionally, the Defender is a great alternative to light curtains and area scanners, going the extra step to contain the process.”

Frommelt Safety manufactures a complete line of rolling and folding automated guards, perimeter fencing, fabric area protection and air filtration products serving the automotive, metal manufacturing, material handling, paper/packaging and alternative energy industries. www.frommeltsafety.com