August 22, 2019 – Rockwell Automation announced Allen-Bradley FLEX 5000 safety I/O modules which can meet the needs of producers in process and heavy industries that require fixed field-wiring terminations or both vertical and horizontal I/O mounting in their distributed safety applications.
The three FLEX 5000 safety I/O modules provide distributed safety I/O for the Allen-Bradley Compact GuardLogix 5380 and GuardLogix 5580 controllers. The safety modules can be combined with FLEX 5000 standard I/O modules to achieve integrated safety and control in one distributed I/O platform.
The modules offer safety reaction times as fast as 4.5 milliseconds to help designers create smaller smart machines and equipment. They also offer diagnostics to help users identify faults based on real-time data.
The safety I/O modules are TÜV certified for use in fail-safe applications up to SIL 3 and PLe, Cat. 4. They can operate in extreme environments and be directly connected to copper and fiber networks. They’re also available with conformal coating options for added protection against environmental stresses.
In addition to the safety I/O modules release, the FLEX 5000 EtherNet/IP adapters now support the Parallel Redundancy Protocol (PRP) network standard. This Ethernet topology is a way for designers to create a redundant network infrastructure.