Safety controller joins compact family
Moeller has extended its easy family of compact controls to encompass safety. At the recent SPS/IPC/Drives show in Germany, it announced a safety-related control relay which can perform a variety of safety functions to Cat 4 / PL e / SIL 3.
The easySafety device (below) also contains separate circuitry that can be used for standard control tasks such as processing diagnostic messages. The two types of control are protected by different passwords, allowing different groups of users to access them.
The relays are supplied with safety function blocks for applications such as: emergency stops; guard door monitoring (with optional lock monitoring); light curtains; two-hand controls; safety mats; footswitches; zero and overspeed monitors; and safety timing relays. These function blocks can be configured either directly on the relay, or from a PC.
An accompanying PC software package, called easySoft-Safety, allows safety configurations to be simulated in the easy language before being transferred to the relay.
The easySafety devices have 14 safety inputs and four relay outputs, or four transistor outputs and a redundant output. The outputs all operate as safety outputs. The inputs can be read by both the safety and standard circuits, and the outputs can be write-accessed by either circuit.
Using the built-in easyNet system, the relays can be networked with up to seven other easy devices such as HMIs and controllers. Coupling modules are available to provide Profibus-DP, CANopen or DeviceNet communications.
