In modern industrial production, due to the complexity of the production process, people's control over mechanical safety in conventional safety measures is becoming increasingly inadequate. In order to improve mechanical safety, more and more manufacturers are considering adding safety protection products to their equipment, the most common of which is the safety light curtain.
When continuously feeding in and out machining parts on high-speed and relatively dangerous machines, it is necessary to set up openings. If protective doors are installed at these locations, it will seriously affect production and inevitably cannot balance efficiency and safety. The "safety light curtain" can protect operators from harm effectively without affecting production.
Friends often ask:
1. Why can't ordinary through-beam photoelectric switches be directly used to replace the safety light curtain, which is a sensing device installed from top to bottom in rows?
2. Can ordinary photoelectric switches replace the "safety light curtain"?
From the detection principle, if multiple through-beam photoelectric switches are combined, it can indeed achieve the same effect as the "safety light curtain" and save a lot of costs.
However, the quality of industrial safety products is never based on price! Next, let's carefully understand the several fatal defects of this "affordable" alternative, and we can know why the importance of ordinary photoelectric sensors cannot replace the "safety light curtain"!!!
1. [Lack of self-diagnosis function for faults]
Whether it is a photoelectric sensor or a safety light curtain, they may be affected by various conditions such as the environment and aging and may fail or detect unstably. When the photoelectric sensor fails, there is no self-diagnosis function, which poses a significant safety hazard!
2. [Poor environmental resistance performance]
In addition to the self-diagnosis performance, the "safety light curtain" also has heat resistance, EMC performance, anti-interference performance, vibration resistance, and electric shock prevention performance, all designed to protect personal safety, which ordinary photoelectric sensors do not have...
3. [Existence of detection blind spots]
Even if the photoelectric switch is installed tightly, there is still a detection blind spot between the upper and lower optical axes, while the "safety light curtain" can correspond to a minimum of 9mm detection object. Even if a small finger passes, it can provide timely protection!
P.S. If a fiber optic sensor is used, it can indeed reduce the optical axis spacing, but it still cannot reach the level of the safety light curtain. Another key point is that the cost of fiber optic sensors is higher than that of safety light curtains under the same optical axis situation.
4. [Affects production efficiency]
The "safety light curtain" has an automatic discrimination function. When the AGV trolley sends the workpiece into the danger zone, the robot works normally without affecting its efficiency; when the operator enters, it stops working to ensure the operator's safety.
Ordinary photoelectric switches, whether the detected objects are AGV trolleys or operators, only output a simple ON/OFF signal and execute a stop command, which has a significant impact on the overall production efficiency.
5. [No safety certification]
Internationally, safety design is highly valued. If your equipment wants to be exported overseas, it must meet safety standards. The "safety light curtain" generally passes various safety certifications, which ordinary photoelectric switches do not have.
In summary, the "safety light curtain" is designed to protect personal safety, so its safety is higher, which is irreplaceable by other products.
Safety Technology Guide: "Safety Distance"
ISO13855 and other standards specify the minimum distance required for the machine to stop when the human body enters the detection area after setting up human body detection equipment such as safety light curtains.
Calculation method for safety distance based on ISO13855
Safety distance (S) = human body approach speed * response time + additional distance depending on the sensor detection capability
1. Vertical approach
2. Parallel approach
3. Intrusion with angles
4. 2-point switching device
The Dinck Technology, with more than ten years of focus on safety light curtains and other sensors, is your ideal choice, combining toughness and reliability, and is at the forefront of the industry in terms of comprehensive specifications and parameters, as well as product performance and stability.
