ROCKWELL Automation will showcase the full range of its machine safety capabilities at stand E50 during the Safety Show 2007, to be held in Sydney during October.
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From perimeter guarding solutions and safety interlock switches to fully functional safety controllers, the company’s display will demonstrate how well-designed machine safety can be an integral component of the automation system, and lead to improved productivity.
Rockwell Automation product manager Gary Milburn said key areas where modern machine safety systems could make a huge difference to productivity were in routine maintenance or in getting the plant back up after an emergency stop.
“Safety systems can now be designed to allow maintenance to be carried out without a full shutdown,” he said, “which means some parts of the plant can keep working if necessary.
“Also, equipment can be programmed to stop in a ‘home’ position, which makes the plant quicker to restart. Getting the plant back up fast can save a lot of dollars and can easily justify a high level of automation.”
To illustrate this, the centrepiece of the Rockwell Automation Safety Show exhibit will be a fully functioning pick-and-place robot system that dispenses M&Ms chocolates to attendees.
Allen-Bradley Guardmaster safety devices–such as Trojan interlock switches, a GuardShield light curtain and a SafeZone multizone laser scanner–will be deployed around the machine to prevent access.
When these are breached, an Allen-Bradley SmartGuard 600 safety controller will coordinate the safe shutdown of the system, ready for rapid reactivation.
A key element of the Rockwell Automation machine safety suite, the compact SmartGuard 600 is ideal for stand-alone applications or medium-sized distributed safety solutions.
Bridging the gap between relay and safety PLC systems, it features on-board intelligence, plus safety I/O and communications ports, to deliver a flexible and programmable safety solution with minimal wiring.
Also on display will be the GuardLogix integrated safety controller family, plus the Allen-Bradley Guardmaster family of machine safety products.
These include safety interlock switches, Prosafe trapped key interlock systems, emergency stop and cable pull switches, safety light curtains and laser scanners, plus safety relays and contactors, safety mats and edge systems.
For more information email Rockwell Automation enquireinaus@ra.rockwell.com.