Lighting the way to a safer industrial workplace

When operating industrial machinery, it’s imperative to have safety measures in place to prevent people from placing parts of their body, such as fingers, hands, or elbows into hazardous areas.

These might be CNC milling machines, an exclusion zone around a robotic arm, or on a materials handling production line, for example.

To help Australian facilities enhance their safety in such applications, LAPP Australia is introducing the Wieland Electric range of safety light curtains with finger, hand, and body detection capability.

SLC4 safety light curtains and SLG4 safety light grids form a complete family, all with the same optical modules and dimensions so that a change in functionality or resolution can be conducted without needing new installation or accessories.

“Wieland Electric has a highly respected reputation globally for being a leader in industrial safety products, and as authorised Australian distributor, we see this as highly complementary to our wide ranges of cables, accessories and industrial automation components,” said Simon Pullinger, Managing Director, LAPP Australia.

Safety light curtains are suitable for monitoring safe access to machines, whereas safety light grids are used over large areas at machines or on the production floor, with ranges up to 70 m from a single system.

Safety light curtains, above, and a safety light grid, below. Both are used to protect personnel in the same way, with the grid version used for larger ranges, up to 70m.

“A major benefit of the Wieland SLC4 and SLG4 ranges is that all basic safety functions can be solved without external devices, making it a complete solution for protecting workers from bodily harm around machinery and production areas,” said Pullinger.

Simplicity in a wide range of applications

Both the SLC4 and SLG4 ranges have been designed for simplicity in installation, connection, alignment, replacement, and use. Both ranges feature:

• Easy alignment due to clearly visible LEDs
• Easy connection via M12 standard connector
• Flexible integration due to flexible cable routing
• Quick installation due to simple handling
• Easy replacement to another model (same dimensions)
• Easy setting of functions through plug-and-play and DIP switches
• Space saving installation with a protective field that extends to the edge of the housing, enabling flush installation without any blind zone
• Robust housing and high IP class for harsh environments
• High shock and vibration resistance (suitable for presses)
   

The SLC4 has detection capability options of 14 mm or 30 mm, with no blind zone, and can protect heights from 300 mm to 2100 mm. 14 mm models can operate over distances up to 10 m, and 30 mm models can reach up to 20 m.

The SLG4, which operates up to 70 m, can be configured with two beams of light, providing 500 mm height, with three beams of light, providing 800 mm height, or four beams of light in either 900 or 1200 mm heights.

Muting applications

Muting sensors distinguish between goods and people, allowing product to pass through, but safely pausing machinery if a human body part is detected.

“In warehouses and production areas where automation and manual picking are mixed, muting sensors are an ideal way to keep machinery uptime with product continuing to flow, while providing the safety benefit of stopping machinery when someone’s hand, for example, enters an unsafe zone,” said Pullinger.

Muting can be configured with safety light curtains and grids in different ways, including:

• L-muting, which involves two sensors and two signals. In this arrangement, material transport is only permissible in one direction. Sequence controlled two-sensor muting is ideally suited to exiting danger zones, especially where there is limited space available outside the danger zone.
• Cross muting, similar to L-muting, but material can pass through in both directions. The intersection point must be within the danger zone to prevent muting from being unintentionally triggered.
• T-muting, which involves four sensors and two signals, and material can pass through in both directions. 4-sensor muting is used when the muting sensor light beams should not cross but instead must be parallel, due to special application situations.

L-muting, left, Cross-muting, right, and T-muting, below.

“In each of these muting variants, there are no additional devices required, and the user does not need to program the muting function — it’s all built in to the Wieland safety curtain or grid,” said Pullinger.

Seeing the light

Wieland’s SLC4 and SLG4 ranges are compact and space-saving in design, with a 23 cm pigtail with standard M12 connector, and the profile dimensions are the same across all models, so it is possible to change detection capability while keeping the same installation.

“LAPP Australia has an experienced local team that can assist with specifying the right safety light curtains or grids for specific applications, to make sure it meets all requirements first time,” said Pullinger.

Safety light curtains and grids form part of an extensive range of Wieland Electric industrial safety products that LAPP Australia is bringing Down Under to enhance local stock, lead times, and supply to local industry.

For more information go to https://lappaustralia.com.au/en/safety-lightcurtain.