Industrial Automation Magazine India

SICK introduces Safe Robotics Area Protection safety system

Published on : Monday 21-10-2019

 

October 18, 2019 – The Safe Robotics Area Protection (SRAP) safety system from SICK provides process-based protection for collaborative robot applications. The safety system provides machine operators with unrestricted, yet safe, access to a robot’s working area at any time, by adapting the operating conditions to the position of the person. These adaptive perception capabilities prevent the risk of accidents from occurring.

The SRAP system consists of a Flexi Soft safety controller and a safety laser scanner – either the S300 Mini Remote for shorter scanning ranges or the microScan3 Core for larger monitoring fields. Safe Robotics Area Protection satisfies the criteria of Performance Level PL d in accordance with EN ISO 13849-1.

SRAP is a complete turnkey solution that is ready to use in no time at all. With prefabricated and tested software function blocks, the safety system can be integrated with and fits into the controllers of all standard industrial robots.

The migration capabilities of the system configuration, plus the option of adapting it in line with additional safety functions, make Safe Robotics Area Protection a future-proof safety system that enables autonomous machines and robots to adapt to new production conditions, safety requirements, and protective field conditions that result from this.

SRAP intelligently combines the functions of a safety laser scanner – either the S300 Mini Remote or the microScan3 Core – with the possibilities offered by the Flexi Soft safety controller. This means that, based on the monitoring situation at the robot, differently dimensioned field sets can be equipped with warning and protective functions in the laser scanners and dynamically adapted in   line with a detected worker position.

Depending on how close the person is to the robot, the sensors cause the robot’s movement to either reduce or stop via the Flexi Soft safety controller – so that work pieces can be inserted or removed, for example. If the person then leaves the monitored area, the safety system automatically starts performing sequence monitoring.

Provided that this monitoring satisfies the requirements for operating the robot safely, the robot is first started up at a reduced speed and then returns to its original working speed once all the warning and protective fields are free again. This means that the worker remains constantly protected against hazardous movements whenever they enter the robot’s working area.