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Edward Lowton
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Latest light curtains
31 October 2014
Panasonic's light curtain – SF4C – enables emergency stop switches or safety door switches to be connected directly and without need for a safety PLC to the light curtain. The additional contacts needed for monitoring the power relays can also be connected directly to the light curtain.
Panasonic says that previously six safety relays were needed to switch off the machine when up to three light curtains were mounted in cascade, but with the SF4C series only two safety relays are needed. This reduces cost and time for wiring.
It is possible to do without the signal towers normally used in safety-critical plants. The light curtain series SF4C comes with externally controlled, highly visible red, yellow, and gree LED signal lamps.
The SF4C series has safety class 4 (PLe, SIL3) and a beam pitch of 10 and 20mm. A protective height of up to 640mm can be achieved.
Additional advantages include: muting, fixed and floating blanking, extraneous light check & avoid function (ELCA), a very low weight due to a polycarbonate housing, an integrated error display, and password protection.
