Posted to News on 8th May 2015, 15:06
Sick introduces advanced hazardous-area safety light curtains
By designing an explosion-proof enclosure for its light curtain technology to ATEX and UL Listed hazardous area standards, SICK is offering excellent safety protection for high-risk flammable gas, vapour and dusty industrial environments. The deTec4 Core Ex, C4000 Select Ex and C4000 Advanced Ex light curtains are all-in-one pre-assembled safety devices suitable for a wide range of hazardous environments from pharmaceutical, chemical and paint manufacture to food processing and storage, to gas and coal industries.
Martin Kidman, SICK (UK) machinery safety specialist, points out: "This is the first time a true fit-and-forget safety light curtain solution has been available for ATEX and UL designated hazardous areas. There's no assembly needed as the light curtain and enclosure have already been tested as a single unit and verified ready for use; the only one to have achieved UL Classified and Listed status so offers complete peace of mind.
"As well as being an all-in-one solution, downtime is reduced and therefore all the dangers of starting and stopping critical processes to install safety light curtains to guard dangerous machinery and protect personnel are eliminated. The range of fields and enclosure sizes means all sorts of equipment can be easily protected."
The deTec4 Core Ex, C4000 Select Ex and C4000 Advanced Ex safety light curtain models offer a range of protective field heights and can be combined to create 10 different variants within the rugged aluminium IP66 explosion-proof enclosure. Highly-visible LED status indicators ensure rapid troubleshooting.
Available in three different lengths, the enclosures can accommodate a number of light curtains allowing protective field heights of 600mm, 900mm, 1200mm and even 1500mm (only with deTec4 Core). With a resolution of 30mm a scanning range of up to 16m can be achieved (depending on the model).
Both enclosures and light curtains are maintenance free and have a number of features to aid quick installation. The enclosures are supplied fully assembled and the light curtains are pre-wired into the enclosures to certified standards. Quick alignment mounting brackets enable rapid set-up and the optional laser alignment tool can make installation even easier. Removable handles are included with the enclosure for easy handling and positioning by installers.
The explosion proof enclosures for safety light curtains are available separately (Transmitter/Receiver) or as a pair and are supplied pre-wired and assembled so that specialist installation is not required. They are designed and approved for use in hazardous locations according to ATEX for gas: II 2 G Ex d IIB T6 Gb, for dust: II 2 D Ex tb IIIC T56 °C Db. NFPA 70/NEC 500, Class I, Div. 1, groups C and D, Class II, Div. 1, groups E, F and G and Class III, Div. 1.
EN safety parameters met are Type 4, Performance Level PLe, Safety Integrity SIL3/SILCL3 and Category 4. Teach-in is rapid, and the deTec4 Core Ex, C4000 Select Ex and C4000 Advanced Ex safety light curtain models are suitable for fieldbus integration, being compatible with a range of comms profiles including CANopen, DeviceNet, EtherNet/IP PROFIBUS and PROFINET.
For more information on the SICK deTec4 Core Ex, C4000 Select Ex and C4000 Advanced Ex safety light curtain models, please go to www.sick.co.uk.
