Five Things to Consider When Selecting a Safety Light Curtain

May 19, 2020

Light curtains go a long way in making your operations much safer for machine operators and maintenance personnel. That said, simply purchasing and installing one doesn't ensure that all safety needs are fully met. It's important to make sure that the light curtain meets all the requirements for reducing the risks of your particular application.

Let’s take a look at five important considerations that should accompany any light curtain specification.

1. What certifications does it have?

Certain basic regulations must be taken into account for all safety products, including standards like ISO 13849-1, IEC 62061 and IEC 61508. These place emphasis on control reliability, diagnostic capabilities, and safety systems architecture.

In the case of light curtains, you should also look for additional safety information like the Performance Level (PL) provided by the safety device. Our F3SG-SR Series safety light curtain, for instance, is PL 4. You also need to look for a safety certification from a trusted third party, such as TÜV, that will verify the fulfillment of the previous requirements.

2. What detection capability does it have?

The resolution or detection capability of a light curtain refers to the amount of separation between its laser beams. There are many different resolution options. For example, a 14mm resolution is appropriate for finger detection and is used when the curtain is placed very close to the source of hazardous motion. Hand detection is achieved with a 25-30mm resolution.

3. What’s the minimum safety distance?

According to ISO 13855, you should always calculate the minimum safety distance to determine where to install a safety light curtain. This ensures that once a person activates the light curtain by crossing the detection area, the machine will cease its activity before the person can reach the source of the hazard.

The minimum safety distance calculation takes several parameters in consideration, including the detection capabilities of the light curtain, the total stopping time of the machine, and characteristics specific to the light curtain’s installation. (For more on machine stop time measurements, check out this blog post.)

4. How rugged is it?

Plenty of manufacturing facilities present environmental challenges, including temperatures, excess moisture and other aspects that can easily damage equipment. Light curtains need to be resistant to these pressures. Omron’s F3SG-SR Series, for example, has a wide operating temperature and holds up well in metalworking and food processing applications.

5. What’s the control architecture?

Light curtains are a measure specifically designed for machine safety, but they’re really just a fraction of, and an input to, the overarching safety system surrounding a machine. To build a successful solution, it’s necessary to connect the light curtains to safety control equipment, such as safety relays or safety controllers, that meets the required specifications.

Source

Put to the Ultimate Test – Part 1: Torsion Tests by HELUKABEL

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Cables and wires in industrial robots and other moving machine parts are often required to withstand extreme stresses caused by torsion. Constant repetitive movements put materials under considerable strain. At the same time, operators expect components to function perfectly and reliably throughout their entire service life to avoid disruptions, outages and safety hazards.

For this reason, at HELUKABEL, we simulate intensive and continuous torsion stresses under realistic conditions with our high-tech testing equipment in Windsbach. We have several types of apparatus for doing this because some of our customers, for example those in the automotive industry, have very precise specifications for how a torsion test is carried out. The tests show that our cables and wires withstand speeds up to 1,000°/s, accelerations up to 2,000°/s² and torsion angles up to 720°. Hence, we make sure that each product always meets our customers’ high standards, and that they receive the impeccable quality they rightly expect from us as a leading supplier of cables, wires and accessories for more than 40 years.

What Is Torsion?

To learn the answer, click here

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Festo Didactic at the Forefront of Developing Canada’s Future Work Force

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With Canadian manufacturing suffering from a growing labour shortage, the participation of industry in skills development is emerging as a vital component in hiring and retention.

The needs are stark: The Canadian Exporters and Manufacturers Association says almost 40% of its members have jobs they can’t fill. Five years from now, 60% expect to be short-staffed, especially when it comes to skilled trades. Statistics Canada forecasts the country’s labour force growth rate will remain below 0.2% for the rest of the decade, below replacement levels.

This growing shortage is affecting companies of all sizes. Already, some manufacturers acknowledge losing out on contracts because they can’t find the manpower to fulfill them.

In reality, the challenge is two-fold: to replenish and expand the workforce to help close the gap between the number of job seekers and vacancies through 2030 when the last baby boomers reach age 65, and ensure workers get opportunities throughout their careers to upgrade or add to their skillset as current technologies evolve and new ones emerge. Festo, through Festo Didactic, one of the world leading provider of equipment and solutions for technical education, intends to help Canada meet this challenge on both fronts. In essence, the approach Festo has always taken is that the learning never stops.

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