Safety first with Automation24

With a wide range of safety technology, Automation24 already adjusted its online shop to meet the needs of its customers in the first half of the year. Effective immediately, there are now also safety light curtains from Datalogic available for almost all common manual workstations and test benches, which can prove dangerous to operating personnel.

Prevention is better than cure

Machines take on the majority of the work in various production processes. Nonetheless, trained operating personnel are required to ensure quality at manual workstations and test benches, for instance, at presses cutting, bending, and punching machines.

Workstations such as this often pose a risk, which can, following a moment of carelessness, result in cuts, crushing, fractures, or worse - even with experienced users. To prevent this from happening in the first place, it is essential that fingers, hands, and other limbs entering hazardous areas be reliably detected. With the range of safety light curtains from the Datalogic SG4 BASE series, automation24.co.uk offers the ideal solution.

"Safety light curtains are the most commonly used safeguards when it comes to the monitoring of access openings. Therefore, we have expanded our online shop to include the SG4 Base series, in two resolutions with a protection field height of up to 1,050 mm, soon to be followed by the SG4 Body series. With these product lines, the vast majority of standard applications can be covered, and the safe disabling of hazardous machine movements can be automated," said Thorsten Schulze, who, as managing director, is responsible for product range management in particular. 

Detection using optical sensors

The safety light curtains consist of a transmitter and a receiver unit and are similar in their operating principle to through beam light barriers, which are used for position detection. Unlike conventional light barriers, the transmitter of a safety light curtain transmits a multitude of light beams at defined distances to the receiver module, and thus forms a close-mesh barrier between the hazard area and the user. As soon as the light pulses are interrupted, for example because a finger, hand, or other limb has crossed their path, machines can be automatically stopped, and injuries avoided. The devices from the Datalogic SG4 Base range also have adjustment options that enable the prevention of unexpected downtime. This includes, for example, OSSD outputs, which emit periodic test pulses in order to detect potential short circuits.

Doubly secure: tips and assistance at automation24.co.uk

In order to find the right safety light curtain for the respective device or machine, Automation24 offers support on its website, in the form of a table with selection criteria. As further assistance during installation, users will find a calculation formula to determine the correct minimum distances between the light curtain and the hazardous area. Tips for installation and ensuring the flawless function of the devices round of the guidelines.

"We also offer an instant availability display via the webshop. With Datalogic, we can rely on a long-term partner with whom we have had positive experiences and can thus offer our customers good value for money," Schulze stated.

www.automation24.co.uk