November 28, 2012 - A press is used to convert material. For this it normally has a moving section which has a cyclic movement.
With the application of presses, the safety of the operating personnel is very important. For this reason PLCopen together with its members worked on a safety specification specific for the application of presses. In this way the implementation of the safety functionality is harmonized across the different implementations, easing the work the machine builder has to do while reducing the training and certification efforts.
The document contains a general overview of the implementation of safety around presses, coupled to twelve defined function blocks. Due to the wide application area of presses, the function blocks include the use of electrical motors and valves control for hydraulics.
This specification is an addition to the existing safety standards as provided by PLCopen. The specification for presses, being part 4 in the set, is planned to be released next month to the public as V 0.99 – Release for Comments to generate feedback from the potential users.
All the PLCopen Safety specifications are available for download from the PLCopen website under section ‘TC5 – Safety’.
PLCopen was founded in 1992 as an independent worldwide association for industrial suppliers and users. It is the leading association resolving topics related to industrial control programming. PLCopen creates concepts to reduce the costs of industrial automation. These cost savings are realized in areas such as engineering, training, operation and maintenance. Together with its members, PLCopen creates specifications to materialize these concepts.