Keeping Railroads Safe with Pilz

Millions of passengers and massive amounts of freight are transported on railroads daily. Whether transporting passengers or freight, trains must be in the right place at the right time. The extensive rail network must be controlled and monitored safely. Additionally, there’s the safety of the train equipment to guarantee.

Automation from Pilz makes an important contribution to railway safety by offering components and solutions for: signaling systems, switchpoint controllers, track cleaning systems, gate systems level crossings and level crossing control systems.

Pilz offers comprehensive services such as risk analysis or verification of safety solutions to the railway sector.

The modular safety system, PNOZmulti, is the ideal solution for safe control of level crossings with flashing light signals or barrier drives. The system’s features include simple connection to the level crossing control system and easy configuration with the PNOZmulti Configurator reducing wiring and engineering effort.

Upon entering the station trains must stop at precisely defined positions, enabling the doors to open and passengers to board and leave the train safely. Safe sensors from Pilz monitor the safe position and function of the gate equipment. These sensors combined with evaluation logic from Pilz offer an economical and safe solution.

The points in shunting yards must be safely monitored and controlled to ensure that everything runs smoothly. The axles of the carriages must be counted and monitored safely as they pull in and out.  Logic operations with Pilz programmable safety systems, PSS, are particularly suitable for complex applications.

Pilz solutions can also enhance safety for track bed cleaning machines, ballast distribution and grading machines, machinery for converting track or new build.  With a comprehensive product range from safe sensors, safe hardware or software-based control systems through to actuators, Pilz has a tailored solution for each machine.

There are many benefits to using Pilz solutions in the railway industry. Pilz solutions provide economical safety for level crossings and protection systems and reduce time spent designing and building protection systems and increases operational safety and availability, even under rugged environmental conditions.  Pilz solutions have been internationally certified and approved.

Glastechnik Holger Kramp GmbH- Water Treatment Plant Solution

Glastechnik Holger Kramp GmbH based out of Stockelsdorf, Germany needed to improve the operational and environmental safety of its water treatment facility where waste water from grinding, drilling and similar machining functions is cleaned and made available again to the production process. The plant consists of several large storage tanks and containers and operate in close contact with the production facility via incoming and outgoing water pipes and pumps. The process of design started with a systematic analysis by Glastechnik Holger Kramp along with Pilz application engineers, to determine what requirements would be needed to improve the safety and reliability for both the human operators and to prevent possible environmental contamination. It was decided that two major goals had to be accomplished, develop a user-friendly and service-friendly diagnostic system, that would, in the event of a fault provide the location and cause of the fault and tips for repairing/remodeling the fault. The goal of this system was to reduce the downtime created by maintenance and safety situations. The safety aspect of the system was accomplished using a series of Pilz E-STOP pushbuttons and coded PSENcode safety switches, in conjunction with the multifunctional safety system PNOZmulti. The PNOZmulti modular safety system watches over the emergency stop devices operating both locally and across the range of machines, as well as the link between the machines and the water treatment system: A fault around one individual machine does not immediately mean that the whole plant has to be brought to a standstill. However, if the central water treatment system should fail, this must result in a controlled overall shutdown of the plant. The safety system also detects potential shorts between contacts, monitors the speed of the pump motors and guarantees that they shut down in the case of a fault. The implementation of this centralized and integrated safety and diagnostic system guarantees that user-friendly solutions are found quickly and accurately. The use of clear easy to understand event and fault messages also make the system significantly easier and faster to diagnose and repair.

Pilz and Komet: Modern Safety and Control Concept Leads to Greater Packaging Productivity

Faster, more flexible, safer – with this objective in mind, the level of automation on plant and machinery continues to advance in all industries. Both safety and control technology take these high requirements into account. If necessary, powerful components can be combined to form complete systems, which guarantee safety on the one hand, and can increase productivity on the other. If the user can adapt technology to suit his requirements, then he has a cost-effective, tailor-made solution. In many industries, packing is still associated with manual work. Where man and machine work together, the risk of injury must be minimized to the greatest possible extent. Safety devices used to be viewed as obstructive and inconvenient, but today the
opposite is true: modern safety and control concepts make handling easier, and plant and machinery more productive.

Faster thanks to the new safety concept
The semi-automatic vacuum-packing machine feeds in the bottom foil via a roller; it is then transported via a chain drive. The foil is brought up to temperature in the forming chamber; a special compressed air/forming procedure and the appropriate tool are used to create the desired tray shape for each packaged product. Staff use both hands to insert grilled sausages into the tray-shaped plastic film, six pieces per row and per pack, before the conveyor moves on and another set emerges from the forming station. After the filling station comes the sealing station: The top film seal is fed through a second roller; a vacuum pump extracts the air and thereby the oxygen. This slows down the activity of the micro- organisms, while the inflow of nitrogen prevents the sausage slices from sticking together. Finally, the top and bottom film layers are impulse sealed under pressure in the sealing chamber. The product packaging is now secure and durable. At the machine outfeed, longitudinal and transverse cutters separate the packaged product into individual trays, which are then fed into transport crates via conveyor. Two coils wind up the residual film cut from both sides. Sprinter is the name of the latest development from Komet, manufacturer of semi and fully automatic vacuum packaging machines. The company is based in Plochingen,Germany, and has its roots in the butchers' trade. It's in this field in particular that Komet's table-top units are used, as they provide an airtight seal for everything that needs to be kept fresh and preserved. Even in the butchers' industry there appears to be an irresistible trend away from the skilled producer and towards industrial production; customers increasingly ask for ready- packed goods, so Komet is increasingly focusing on semi and fully automatic machinery. Flexible and quick to convert, they can pack items in up to eight parallel trays, depending on the packaged product and the size, with or without automatic infeed. Even non-food goods can be packaged and sealed efficiently using  automated packaging machines.
Another reason why the machine is called Sprint is because, in comparison to the previous model Quickvac 2000, it can convey products to their packaging more quickly, using a less complicated procedure. That's because of a modern safety and control concept, which Pilz developed for Komet. Designed for maximum compatibility: sensor technology, evaluation device and visualization o n the Sprinter, the multifunctional safety system PNOZmulti configures simpler, safer interaction between man and machine. The safety system has a modular structure and can be used flexibly to suit the application. Instead of wiring, the user configures the needed functions simply, in a configuration tool. This saves time, space and money because there is no longer any complex individual wiring and all the safety related functions are located in one housing. PNOZmulti is cost effective when monitoring four or more safety functions and can also undertake standard control tasks. By comparison the safety devices on its predecessor were simplistic and mainly based on individually wired switches and contactors. Large covers safeguarded wide-ranging potential danger zones such as the forming and sealing stations via switch contacts. The infeed area in between was narrow and only allowed a one-up arrangement.
On the Sprinter, the cover on the forming station is reduced to a minimum. Instead, an advance security slide ensures that it is impossible to reach into either the forming or the sealing station from the filling station. If the slide switch is not closed, the safety system will prevent the bottom film from being formed and stop pressing and heat-sealing in the sealing station. Propulsion drives and valves are switched off; the central PMI operator
terminal (Pilz Machine Interface) receives an error message, stating the cause and the source. Magnetic safety switches, PSENmag, monitor the mobile protective hood over the sealing station, the longitudinal and  transverse cutters, and the lower positions of the lift cylinder plus the security slide on the forming/sealing station. The PNOZmulti also monitors the E-STOP and the enablers that control the heaters and valves (pneumatic + hydraulic). The risk of injury from the packaging machine, therefore, is kept to a minimum, both during operation and in setup mode. "With PNOZmulti the machine has a flexible safety concept which is really easy to adapt to our requirements. Now the infeed area has a three-up arrangement, so assembly is quicker and easier, plus the machine is more productive", says Harald Janke, Technical Manager at Komet.

Solution for safety and standard
A modern control solution also fell within the scope of the cooperation between Komet and Pilz. The standard control technology on the Sprinter also comes in useful for automatic operation and setup mode. "People at Komet were unhappy with the existing control solution and were looking for an efficient alternative", recalls Ralf Kessler, Applications Engineer at Pilz. Now they are using a PMI operator terminal in conjunction with a Profibus Master. A soft PLC runs under the Windows CE operating system. The standard I/O modules are logged and controlled via the PSSuniversal. The Pilz centralized control platform covers the whole I/O periphery as one system and is universally applicable. Users have three options: pure safety applications, combined safety and standard applications or exclusively conventional/standard control  functions.
With the grey, standard head modules it is possible to use analog and digital standard inputs and outputs on the fieldbus systems, without a functional connection to the safety technology. On the Sprinter, the head module of the PSSuniversal is also connected to the PMI via Profibus-DP, just like the PNOZmulti. Due to the system's modular design, the PSSuniversal can be individually adapted specifically to meet the respective requirement. If any adaptations are required, modules can simply be expanded or exchanged.

Benefitting from expertise
Pilz was also contracted to complete the electrical design, prepare the circuit diagrams and carry out the programming, including commissioning. "As a small company with around 30 staff we are reliant on competent, reliable partners for our electrical design and programming; we need partners who know what's happening and know what's important to us", says Janke, "Here we found Pilz to be a suitable partner, their technical advice was superb and the collaboration with the Pilz staff ran smoothly." The competence of Komet in terms of automation technology, combined with Pilz's expertise in matters of control technology and safety, jointly produced a new vacuum packing machine that operates more productively and is therefore of greater value.
Pilz is a global company, as such, not all standards and information will be applicable worldwide. Please check with your local Pilz office to ensure your factory and/or machines meet local standards.

Stanford Linear Accelerator Center- Laser Source Protection and Access Control

Stanford’s Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) has built a safety and notification system for the variety of laser source equipment that is used at SLAC. The laser source safety configuration is designed with two major levels of protection; Access Control and Laser Source Protection. Pilz’s PNOZ Multi is used to monitor the status of the safety sensors and access control modules that are in place around the laser sources. The laser source itself is contained in a Laser Source area with entrances through various access doors and covers/flaps; these access points are all monitored using the Pilz PSENmag sensors. The PSENmag sensor status are monitored with a PNOZmulti, a Device Net Module is added to the system for annunciation of the safety system’s status. The access to the various laser sources and control areas while monitored by the PNOZmulti are used in conjunction with the Device Net Module, this allows those working in the Laser Source area to manage the status of access points to the laser. As part of the monitoring system, Pilz E-STOP pushbutton PIT is used to shutdown components during maintenance or configuration of the laser source or enclosure areas. The combination of safety products that SLAC has implemented thus far gives the several benefits from a safety design standpoint; the component nature of the system design itself, allows for a high degree of flexibility and reconfiguration allowing for the system to grow/change with minimal downtime. Additionally, the use of PNOZmulti monitors the amount of wiring involved in installation makes the safety system itself more economical. Finally, system status and safety diagnostics can be completed through use of a fieldbus as opposed to manual inspection, giving the system higher level of system integrity and accuracy. SLAC has plans to expand the safety system to create a more robust and efficient system for other areas of the SLAC research tools and equipment.

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory is home to a two-mile linear accelerator—the longest in the world. Originally a particle physics research center, SLAC is now a multipurpose laboratory for astrophysics, photon science, accelerator and particle physics research. Six scientists have been awarded the Nobel Prize for work carried out at SLAC and the future of the laboratory promises to be just as extraordinary.

Buhler Inc. and Pilz Automation Safety L.P. Partner for Safety

(CANTON, MI) – Buhler Inc. of Plymouth, Minn. has partnered with Pilz Automation Safety L.P. of Canton, Mich. to implement safety in its flour heat treatment, brewing and malting equipment. Buhler Inc. installed PNOZmulti modular safety systems to control explosion vents and emergency stops. This system will protect personnel and equipment from being harmed or destroyed during a deflagration. The PNOZmulti m1p allows for easy expansion as well as an improved response time of approximately 40ms. Download PDF Reference: http://www.pilzamerica.com/articles/INL … -Sheet.pdf

Pilz Automation Safety L.P.

The world leader is SAFE automation; Pilz offers a full range of leading-edge safe automation products and services. The company’s innovative technologies and safety expertise provides customers with the leanest and safest solutions.

Buhler Inc.

Buhler is a global leader in the supply of process technology, especially production technologies for making foods and engineering materials. Buhler is active in over 140 countries and has some 7000 employees worldwide. In fiscal 2008, the Group generated sales of CHF 1893 million.