The global leader in factory and process automation solutions, SICK, announced today its new control unit for safeguarding operations on larger and more complicated machinery.
The new RE4000 control unit from SICK combined with the company's RE300 safety switch system is believed to offer machine builders and users greater levels of operator safeguarding, guard monitoring and machine integration, claiming to provide a higher level of reliability for larger and/or more complicated machines.
The RE4000 is believed to improve the functionality of the magnetically coded RE300 system in non-contact reliability, protection against defeat by tampering, and fail safe operation. The unit manages this by enabling the individual monitoring of up to six safety interlocks, each with its own status indication, from a single control unit.
The RE4000 control unit also takes advantage of the RE300 system's ability to accept misalignment of its actuator and sensor, which means that the safety switch can make allowances for guards when they become out-of-line as a result of wear.
The new machine's time delay output is manually adjustable between 0-15 seconds, providing an additional output signal that can be used for emergency stopping, mechanical interlocking of switches, and for interfacing with PLCs and industrial PC controllers.
According to SICK, the RE4000 control unit has the highest safety rating, with CAT 4 approval based on EN 954-1, as well as TUV and cULus approvals.
SICK has more than 350 patents in industrial sensors, safety systems and automatic identification solutions. The diversity of its product line offers solutions for automotive, packaging, electronics, food and beverage, advanced technology and material handling markets.