Feature Machine Safety
igh quality and fresh deli- catessen goods are in demand and this is reflected in Steinhaus’ continuous growth. In 1985, the Remscheid-based com- pany established the market for high end convenience food, and today, still maintain a leading position in the market. Playing no small role here are the logistics. After all, these are fresh products which need to reach retailers and customers quickly.
In the past 11 years, Förster & Krause has helped shape material flow at Steinhaus by, among other ways, con- structing buffer and container ware-
Guarding conveyor systems H
Sensors from Leuze electronic are being used to enhance safety at work on a
conveyor system at a new finished goods warehouse of food supplier Steinhaus Right and below: picked pallets are placed on the conveyor system with a manual lift truck, lifted to the transport level of the wrapping
system by the lifting station and
then, after wrapping, transported to the shipping area on the ground floor
houses, container transport systems and conveyor lines for the provision of goods. Often, existing system parts and components could be reused, thereby reducing the investment expense. In 2011, Steinhaus again took over warehousing of the finished products, including order picking and shipping, something that had previously been delegated to a service provider. The entire warehousing and order picking area is held at a temperature of 4°C. In the two story building, Förster & Krause implemented a conveyor system with numerous buffer seg- ments which permit very flexible order picking. Longer conveyor lines are negotiated on both stories over- head on the second level. To guard point of operations, the MLD Multiple Light Beam Safety Devices from Leuze electronic are used. Important functions, such as start/restart interlock and contactor monitoring, are already integrated in the devices and, if necessary, various muting modes can be selected. As a result, MLD can be used both for simple access guarding as well as for muting. The need for additional muting devices is eliminated, thereby simplifying the design and lowering costs. Furthermore, the safety sensor with the new BT-240 swivel mount can be flexi-
bly rotated 240° around its own axis, simply aligned and reliably mounted.
Goal: maximum freshness From the perspective of the cus- tomer, the new finished goods ware- house offers the great advantage that Steinhaus can now also deliver smaller order quantities and mixed pallets. With this flexibility, it is hoped that retail customers will expand their offerings with Steinhaus products in order to test their acceptance with the end con- sumer, for example. In addition, by ordering smaller quantities more often, the products are fresher, partic- ularly at smaller retail companies. This is an important goal of Steinhaus, one which was met entirely thanks to the new warehous- ing and order picking technology.
Leuze electronic
www.leuze.com/uk T: 01480 408 500
New floor gap for Troax Machine Guard Panels
roax has changed the panel height for all its Machine Guard panels. “We have listed to request from our customers who have asked for a lower floor gap to make their machine guard safer,” commented product manager Josephine Granell. “This also adapts well with the standards in Asia and North America.” All mesh, polycarbonate and steel panels in the machine guard segment will
T
be increased by 50mm, increasing the present panel height from 2,000mm to 2,050mm, and the 1,200mm panel height to 1,250mm. The new panel height will still fit all Troax fixing systems such as Smart Fix and Rapid Fix. The system height remains at 2,200mm overall, and the floor gap has been
decreased from 200mm to 150mm. “With a floor gap of 150mm it will still be easy to clean under the machine guard,” continued Granell. “We were ready to supply the new panel by the middle of February 2013, even though within the Machinery Directive there currently aren’t any requirements for a floor gap of 150mm, although in the updated standards for Robots, ISO 10218, there are requirements for a floor gap of 150mm in some cases.” In other news Troax has improved its machine safety system, Smart Fix, with
the introduction of Rapid Fix, a system that complies with Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC. It has the same posts and panels as Smart Fix, however, the major difference is the system’s two smart brackets, which create the functionality. Martin Ask, product manager of Automatic and Robotic Applications at Troax AB, said, “Rapid fix uses two different brackets. The lower bracket has a slot that the panel hooks into, whilst the upper bracket has a unique locking mechanism
12 APRIL 2013 Automation
that snaps the panel in the locked position. These brackets mean that panels can be re-installed quickly and easily.”
Since Rapid Fix is based on the same basic components as Smart Fix, it is possible to combine the two systems. If you already have an existing Smart Fix installation and you want to change to Rapid Fix for quick access when some- thing happens or for maintenance purposes, all you have to do is simply change the brackets. Of course, you can do the opposite if needed. Troax UK
www.troax.com 01793 542 000
Enter 224
Enter 223
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52