Electricity + Control September 2018

round up

CONTROL SYSTEMS + AUTOMATION + SYSTEMS ENGINEERING

Selecting an industrial safety controller

easily in the HMI without complicated programming. Enquiries: BrandonTopham. Email brandon.topham@retautomation.com

An easy-to-use and flexible safety controller will make it that much easier to get your safety system up and running with min- imal downtime. It will also allow you to easily expand and adapt to future needs. Intuitive programming saves time and costs. An icon-based, drag-and-drop user interface reduces the learning curve and speeds up commissioning. This also makes it easy to quickly modify and update the configuration when changes are needed. Note that many safety controllers have password protection to ensure only authorised users can make changes, reducing the risk of operators bypassing the system. The XS26 expandable safety controller from Banner includes software with a seamless user interface for setting up and man- aging safety systems. The XS also has a built-in display and a micro USB connection to easily connect a PC or download a con- figuration from the XM memory card. A safety controller interface that automatically generates wir- ing diagrams speeds up installation. Once you have set up a safe- ty system configuration in the safety controller software, safety controllers like the XS and SC from Banner will automatically provide wire diagrams of your configuration, making it easy to commission your configuration. Live simulation allows users to

test configurations quickly. Look for a safety control- ler that offers a simulation mode so you can quickly test new configurations and changes prior to imple- mentation. An expandable controller provides flexibility for changes. Having a safety controller that can expand when you need it (especially with last minute chang- es) allows for the required agility to meet deadlines and implement changes quickly. In addition, an expandable safety controller lets you increase the number of inputs with expansion cards as safety devices are added. You can also increase the number of outputs with expansion cards as the need to safely control the machine changes. Once again, intuitive programming is important and helps make it quick and easy to implement changes. Finally, real-time fault monitoring allows quick iden- tification of problems. Look for a safety controller that can communicate with your PLC via Profinet, Mod- bus, TCP/IP, PCCC, etc. This allows you to remotely monitor your safety devices and will ensure that you are notified in real time when there is an issue with the safety system. In addition, with configurable IO, inputs can be changed to non-safe outputs to control indication lights for local notification of a fault. The XS26 and SC26 safety controllers can commu- nicate via Profinet, Ethernet/IP, Modbus, and PCCC up to 256 virtual status updates to a PLC and/or HMI that can be stored and tracked for future analysis. These controllers can also receive up to 80 virtual non-safety inputs to remotely turn safety devices or indicators on and off, enable mute functions, cancel off-delays, ini- tiate a reset, and accomplish other tasks quickly and

Electricity + Control

SEPTEMBER 2018

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