Machine and equipment builders of today are constantly under pressure from rapidly changing consumer demands to reduce development and installation time while increasing machine flexibility.
Rockwell Automation Inc., the world’s largest company dedicated to industrial automation and information, has developed a perfect solution to help machine builders satisfy those requirements.
The Allen-Bradley Kinetix 5500 servo drive with integrated safety enables machine builders to take advantage of a single EtherNet/IP network, as well as a common design environment with Rockwell Software Studio 5000 Logix Designer software.
Building on the foundation of the recently released Kinetix 5500 servo drive, the Kinetix 5500 servo drive with integrated safety has the same high-speed coordination to meet demanding motion requirements, but uses the EtherNet/IP network for streamlined machine safety functions to allow end user reap the benefits of improved personnel safety and increased machine uptime in the manufacturing facility.
“Production requirements are constantly changing for end users in the packaging, converting and material-handling industries, meaning their safety requirements may change as well,” said Gavin Black, product manager CompactLogix, SLC, Kinetix Motion, Rockwell Automation.
“Putting safety on the network eases the configuration of and updates to safety functions. This allows machine builders to be very flexible with their design and differentiate themselves in these industries, providing customers the means to more easily react to market changes.”
According to the media release by Rockwell Automation, the EtherNet/IP network allows safety signals to travel via the same wires and IP addresses used for control and motion, which eliminates the need for a hardwired safety system. Reducing overall system wiring saves time and money in installation and removes potential points of failure, resulting in less troubleshooting and downtime.
Machine and equipment builders can more quickly install the drive and provide customers with greater ease of use via the Logix Designer development environment and Allen Bradley GuardLogix safety controllers.
In addition to motion and control parameters, end users now can configure the safety system within the Logix Designer software. They can unlatch the safe torque off function, program an unlimited number of set points, change safety zoning, and re-use code to maintain system validation – all within a single software application.
“End users also gain improved diagnostics information through the drive’s integration with the GuardLogix safety controller. Details on safety-related faults, such as safe torque off requests, are shown on the drive’s LCD display. This information can also be pulled into existing information databases and reporting solutions already in use, to deliver actionable safety information to users when and where they need it,” it says in the media release.
