Sick Flexi Soft modular safety controller

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The Flexi Soft modular safety controller has been upgraded with new functionality that allows packaging system manufacturers to benefit from the efficient cascading of safety sensors.

Materials supply, servicing and maintenance work, as well as error rectification, are the most important reasons that packaging machines are often provided with a variety of safety doors, service panels or covers. Along with these, emergency stop pushbuttons are almost always provided, as well as safety laser scanners or safety light curtains in some applications where machine openings without a mechanical, physical guard must be accessed. Due to the special screened cables involved, as well as the discrete wiring and safe inputs for the safety controller, integrating all of these switches and sensors separately would until now have incurred significant costs.

The Flexi Loop functionality upgrade fulfils the requirement for cost-saving cascading of safe switches and sensors, with which safety doors and servicing panels on machines are protected up to Performance Level (PL) e in accordance with DIN EN ISO 13849-1. Up to 32 sensors, even those produced by other manufacturers, can be cascaded and receive voltage supply via loop nodes. This minimises expenditure on cabling and frees up safety controller inputs. Power supply and communication paths between the individual loop nodes can be as long as 30 m, meaning that a full loop may amount to a total length of 960 m. The connection is achieved via an unscreened standard cable with M12 connectors.