Robotic Palletizer Safeguarding

Robotic palletizers create hazardous environments and require several safety measurements to prevent harm to employees and material. Personnel require a status monitoring system that allows them to track the machine’s operation and ensure that no safety hazards exist.

The safety light screens used to monitor the palletizer need to have muting, gate switches, and E-stop buttons. The safeguarding solution also needs to safeguard two conveyors going out, two case infeeds, and a forklift entry where empty pallets arrive.

Banner Engineering’s XS26-2 is an adaptable, expandable safety controller with an intuitive programming environment, with the capacity to handle current machine processes and the flexibility to add up to eight I/O expansion modules (for a total of 154 safety inputs) as machine safety requirements grow or change.

A broad spectrum of safety devices is supported, allowing for complex applications to be configured and downloaded to the controller in a minimal amount of time for efficient machine commissioning. The XS26 expandable safety controller is ideal for complex safety applications where 3 or more safety relays are typically used.

Banner's SC26-2 is a flexible, easy-to-use safety controller with an intuitive programming environment. The programmable safety controller can manage all of the safety devices with one module. The SC26-2 communicates the status of safety devices via Ethernet IP and controls a tower light for visual indication of safety device statuses.

The base controller allows eight of the 26 inputs to be configured as outputs for efficient terminal utilization. The SC26-2 is ideal for safety applications that typically use 3 safety relays.

Both the XS26 and SC26-2 safety controllers use Banner's intuitive, drag-and-drop user interface that is easy to learn quickly for rapid commissioning. The software automatically generates wiring diagrams and allows users to stimulate configurations prior to deployment - both of which make system setup faster and simpler.