Leuze electronic presents itself as Safety and Industry 4.0 expert in Hanover

At the world's leading industrial trade fair (April 1 to 5, 2019), Leuze electronic focused on its expertise in Safety and Industry 4.0.

Owen, May 3, 2019 - At this year's Hanover trade fair, which took place at the beginning of April, the optical sensor manufacturer Leuze electronic showcased its expertise in the areas of Safety and Industry 4.0. At the sensor people's booth, fair visitors could see for themselves the huge selection of safety solutions offered by the safety system provider, ranging from the MSI safety control, the RSL 400 safety laser scanner, safety locking devices through to safety services such as risk assessment or safety checks. A particular safety highlight, developed on the basis of Leuze electronic's MLC safety light curtains, was "Smart Process Gating" (SPG) which provides an alternative to the muting process and makes process-controlled access guarding with material transport less expensive, simpler and safer. For example, in intralogistics, as well as in the automotive and packaging industries, material locks on conveyor lines often have to be protected against unauthorized access by means of optical safety sensors. Previously, muting processes with muting sensors were required in order to clearly identify when transported goods are approaching a protective field and to bridge the passing of these goods through the protective field at the correct moment. The SPG (Smart Process Gating) method developed by Leuze electronic is an innovative alternative, and it eliminates the need for signal-emitting sensors. Based on the MLC safety light curtains, conveyor systems can thus be made more compact. The risk of misalignment or damage to the sensors is eliminated as are the costs for their maintenance and servicing. Furthermore, the purchasing costs, the wiring and risk of manipulation are reduced, which increases the availability of the complete safety device. With SPG, the first muting signal comes from the process control (PLC), while the second muting signal is generated by the protective field itself. Smart Process Gating requires a detailed knowledge of the process so that the necessary PLC control signals are made available in the expected time window. The MLC 530 safety light curtain variant with Smart Process Gating (SPG) is TÜV-certified for safety. The achievable performance level of the solution is attained in conjunction with the system control that is used: PL d (with standard control) or PL e (with safety control). As winner of the 2019 GIT Security Award in the "Safe Automation" category, Leuze electronic with its "Smart Process Gating" has been nominated for the "Best of Industry Award 2019". Online voting began on March 25. Interested voters can vote for their favorites and win valuable prizes themselves: www.maschinenmarkt.de/best-of-industry/voting. At the Hanover fair, the sensor people also focused on further development of their Industry 4.0-capable solutions based on the dual channel principle. In other words, digital sensors used for Industry 4.0 applications are equipped with two communication channels for condition monitoring and predictive maintenance. The dual channel principle makes it possible for the first time to make data available separately and according to customer requirements. Real-time data is transferred via channel 1, and data for process monitoring and configuration via channel 2. At the trade fair, Leuze electronic used practical examples to demonstrate how condition monitoring and predictive maintenance can help the user plan for maintenance intervals and thereby avoid unexpected and costly system downtime. The dual channel principle is explained in a video which can be viewed at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXHN_dRM51I