Tectra installs level 4 safety system
October 2006
Sensors & Transducers
A leading supplier of components to the automotive industry in Gauteng has commissioned Tectra Automation to install close on a R1-million worth of optoelectronic protective devices throughout its metal works facility. The 8-month project will see Tectra installing and commissioning type 4 light curtains, which instantly stops machines like presses when movement is detected in pre-identified danger areas.
"The Datasensor light curtain concept which we will be implementing has the advantage of minimal disruptions during installation, as it allows us to set up the control panels, link those to the light curtains and check that they are working before we shut down the machines to which they will be connected," explains general manager for Tectra Automation, Emil Berning. "The fact that this client has opted for a type 4 safety class device instead of the standard type 2, means that they will have functions like dual redundancy built into the system for optimum protection."
In accordance with IEC 61496-1/2, Datasensor's compact SAFEeasy light curtains are ideal for the protection of operators. The emitter-receiver units are optically synchronised, and contain all the control circuits, inputs and outputs inside the housing for ease of installation and use.
"The safeguarding of a plant is not a simple process and requires detailed planning and analysis," says Berning. "To achieve an intrinsically safe solution, our aim was to find the middle road between performance and safety, and this system fits that bill perfectly. Emergency stopping systems, fixed barriers and guards, mobile guards and two-hand control devices may be less costly to install, but they influence total cost of ownership by hampering movement and production and not offering complete safety."
"They also do not allow functions like blanking, which is just a way of programming the light curtains to allow certain types of movement as required by a specific process," he continues. "Another advantage of class 4 light curtains is that once a single failure occurs, the safety function will remain active. With respect to other safety systems, the use of optoelectric safety systems guarantees a reduction of the machine stopping times, increases productivity and improves work-place ergonomics."
For more information contact Emil Berning, Tectra Automation, +27 (0) 11 971 9400, emilb@tectra.co.za
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