Sick Flexi Loop safety sensor integration

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The Flexi Loop safety controller functionality upgrade fulfills the requirement for cascading of safe switches and sensors, allowing safety doors and servicing panels on machines to be protected up to Performance Level (PL) e in accordance with DIN EN ISO 13849-1.

Up to 32 sensors, including those produced by other manufacturers, can be cascaded and receive voltage supply via loop nodes. This minimises expenditure on cabling and frees up safety controller inputs. The power supply and communication paths between the individual loop nodes can be as long as 30 m, meaning that a full ‘loop’ may amount to a total length of 960 m. The connection is achieved via an unscreened standard cable with M12 connectors.

When used for packaging machines, the company claims the system almost entirely eliminates the current costs for wiring and for safety inputs and outputs and that it detects if consequential errors are ‘masked’ by the series connection. The response time of the whole system is reduced, as the response time of the system is significantly shorter than the sum of the response times of the individual sensors. As the system strand monitors each sensor individually, it provides comprehensive diagnostic information during running operation.