Banner Engineering is offering its Universal Muting Module, a safety module that monitors inputs from sensors to determine when a car body, pallet or other work piece needs to pass through a safety light screen into a work cell or hazardous area without causing the machinery to stop. The diverse-redundant microcontroller-based module allows the system to safety bypass (mute) the safety light curtain outputs. This function may be necessary for certain production processes to run smoothly without continuous stopping and starting; and also to ensure that the overall safety of personnel working around the machinery is not jeopardised.
The module is used with Banner's EZ-Screen grid and point perimeter guards, Mini-Screen, Micro-Screen or Machine-Guard safety light screens and other safeguarding devices to provide a complete package for guarding entry/exit points anywhere work-in-progress needs to flow freely into and out of hazardous work cells. The Muting Module uses inputs from sensors or switches and from the safeguarding device to help determine if the light screen obstruction is an acceptable work piece. If a person attempts to walk through the light screen at any point during a machine cycle, it does not allow the safety system control to be muted and causes the dangerous machinery to stop.
The Universal Muting Module is rugged and compact, rated IP65, a unique advantage over competitive systems, since it can be mounted near the guarded area without the need for an enclosure. All connections on the Muting Module are made via standard quick-disconnect cables.
The full-featured module can monitor two or four inputs and includes selectable automatic or monitored manual reset, allowing flexibility for point-of-operation or perimeter guarding. It also includes a universal safety stop interface (USSI) for easy connection of supplemental safeguarding devices or E-stops, plus selectable external device monitoring (EDM) for monitoring the state of external devices, such as MPCEs (machine primary control elements).
The new device is easy to install. Eight Euro-style quick-disconnect I/O ports allow easy connection of mute inputs, mute lamp output, override, USSI and reset. Two Mini-style quick disconnects allow interfacing with the safety system and machine control.
Other advanced features include a back door timer to select a maximum period of time that muting can occur; one or two-direction muting; monitored or nonmonitored mute lamp output to indicate when muting is occurring; selectable mute on power-up to allow for systems that are not operational to initiate mute immediately upon power-up; mute enable function and an input that can function as a 'window' for muting to begin or to inhibit muting from occurring.
For more information contact Rodney Topham, RET Automation Controls, 011 453 2468, [email protected]
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