Rockwell’s advanced light curtain system to improves safety and flexibility

This is in line with the rise of robots that has ushered in an increased demand for light curtains to provide a safe work environment between the robotic work cells and the rest of the plant.

“Users will see significant advantages throughout the lifecycle of the new light curtain system, but especially during installation and operation,” said Manfred Stein, global product manager for safety light curtains at Rockwell Automation.

The Integrated Laser Alignment System (ILAS) of the new GuardShield 450L-E reduces installation time by providing multiple visible laser points that optimise setup with a simple touch of the ILAS symbol on the front window of the stick. In addition, the compact design and full-length protective field aim to integrate a GuardShield 450L-E system in hand and finger protection applications from 150 mm (5.9 inches) up to 1950 mm (76.7 inches) in increments of 150 mm (0.5 foot).

After start-up, users can leverage advanced features and functionality including cascading, built-in muting and blanking to enhance flexibility while maintaining the highest level of safety.

The advanced muting and blanking functions of the GuardShield 450L-E light curtain are set up through DIP switches located on the dedicated plug-in modules. Common muting setups like 4-sensor or 2-sensor with L- and T-configuration and override function can be selected as well as reduced resolution or teach in fixed blanking. A cascading plug-in can also be installed for series connection of additional GuardShield 450L Safety Light Curtain systems, enabling multi-sided machine guarding.

All these special functions combined with the inherent flexibility of the GuardShield 450L transceiver design help to simplify engineering logistics and minimise the stock required to address the full range of applications.