The Machinery Directive stipulates machinery should not present a risk. Since there is no such thing as zero risk, the aim is to achieve an acceptable residual risk. If safety is dependent on control systems, these must be designed so as to minimise the effect of a malfunction. Safety technology in automation minimises the risk of damage to persons or installations. The ifm product range comprises a multitude of safety products including electro-sensitive protective equipment (ESPE), door switches, actuators and control systems.
Unlike conventional safety switches, inductive safety sensors directly detect metal – without requiring a special target. Safety light curtains and safety light grids are used where hazardous areas must be secured. They are optoelectronic safety devices consisting of one transmitter and one receiver and conform to the safety requirements of type 2/SIL 1 or type 4/SIL 3.
AS-i door switches with guard locking have the function to keep moving protective equipment such as protective grating, protective guards and other covers closed as long as a dangerous state is present. The safe mushroom-headed E-stop buttons and other protective switches force a machine or installation to stop or shut down in a hazardous situation. ifm fail-safe sensors and operating elements can be connected to any safety evaluation unit, e.g. to safety relays, programmable logic modules or safe controllers.
Safety components can easily be incorporated into an AS-i network via AS-Interface Safety at Work. Signals from standard units and safe components are transmitted via a common cable. For direct installation in vehicles or mobile machines, ifm provides a powerful, freely programmable 32-bit safety controller.
Stopping the sparks from flying
IS & Ex
Whenever electrical equipment is required for use in hazardous environments they must be designed with intrinsic safety in mind. Darren Barratt, product sales manager at alarm and event management specialist, Omniflex outlines the importance and key aspects of intrinsic safety design.
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Sensors & Transducers
Contour verification and object inspection are two of the most important functionalities in industrial imaging. With the new O2D5xx series, ifm now offers a solution that perfectly masters both functionalities
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SCADA/HMI
The new 11 cm ecomatDisplay from ifm features 16,7 million colours, a high-resolution display with optical bonding and a powerful processor, all packed into a compact, robust housing.
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SCADA/HMI
The new 11 cm ecomatDisplay from ifm features 16,7 million colours, a high-resolution display with optical bonding and a powerful processor, all packed into a compact, robust housing.
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IS & Ex
Pepperl+Fuchs has expanded its portfolio of K-System isolated barriers for DIN rail mounting (power rail) with the KCD2-SCS interface module. As the first 2-channel AI/AO intrinsic safety barrier with dual function, the module can be configured individually for analogue input or output control signals.
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IT in Manufacturing
Manufacturing companies in the metal industry need oils and other fluids that are consumed by their machines. To make this consumption transparent and to establish a link to the ERP system, Arnold Umformtechnik relies on the IIoT platform, moneo, in combination with the SAP-based software solution Shop Floor Integration (SFI) – both from ifm.
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Temperature Measurement
The VVB30x continuously detects vibrations in three measurement axes and uses them to calculate proven indicators for evaluating machine condition.
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IS & Ex
SEW-EURODRIVE is revolutionising industrial automation with advanced gear units, decentralised drives and the energy-efficient MOVIGEAR system.
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Flow Measurement & Control
The SMF magnetic-inductive flow sensor revolutionises liquid and creamy flow measurement. With IO-Link, it enables digital data transmission, eliminating blind spots in production.
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