The new G9SX-SM Standstill Monitoring Unit from Omron helps machine operators reduce downtime and increase productivity, the company says. Typically, when access to a hazardous area is required and there are moving parts within that area, timers or sensors are used to grant access. Sensors can be tricky to implement safely in situations where the motion can stop at any position, or if space is limited. Timers are more commonly used, but the problem with this technique is that the timers need to be set based on a worst-case scenario, making access to the machine longer than is necessary. Machines also have a tendency to mechanically deteriorate over time and with fixed timers, this cannot easily be accounted for. The G9SX-SM does it differently by monitoring the back-EMF from the motors directly producing the motion in the hazardous area, Omron says. By doing this, the G9SX-SM knows exactly when the movement has stopped, and will grant access immediately, regardless of how long it may take. Omron claims the G9SX-SM is currently the only device on the market that can do this and maintain a Category 4 (EN954-1), SIL 3 (IEC/EN 62061), and PLe (ISO13849-1) rating.
www.omron.com

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