New standards and technologies streamline safety systems

摘要

Lowering costs, decreasing downtime, and speeding time to market Machine builders and end users can now enjoy the benefits of new machine guarding technologies endorsed by international safety standards. From the most sophisticated manufacturing operation to the simplest relay-based system, economical and effective choices are now available to enhance machine safety. In the 1970s, machine builders began to change the way they wired machines by replacing relays with automatic sequencers, known today as programmable logic controllers (PLC). However, machine builders addressed safety as an afterthought. Regulators excluded PLCs from machine safety, and little attention was paid to safety by end users. Today it is a different story. It is no longer necessary to attach steel cables to operators' wrists to keep hands out of machine pinch points, for example. Safety is now automatic. The latest options include integrated, networked safety systems that use reliable safety PLC technology. Designed and built according to IEC guidelines and tested by nationally recognized testing laboratories, such as Technical Inspection Association (TUV) and Underwriters Laboratories (UL), PLCs, buses, I/Os, and other components are replacing traditional hardwiring on machines.