SENSORS & SENSING SYSTEMS FEATURE Sense and sensitivity
As sara LBS explain, increasing site safety and productivity while improving integration across the loading bay, can be achieved with an investment in industrial doors with sensing technology
here are several configurations of industrial doors - from roller shutter, sectional overhead and hinged designs, all offering different performance benefits and with different material specification which can improve thermal insulation, add fire protection or simply create improved aesthetics. Once a design has been settled upon a
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door’s performance can be maximised via the use of new technologies that allow the door to be sensitive to its environment. These can improve traffic flow, reduce the risk of on-site injury and facilitate a level of loading bay automation. Whether they are located at the entrance of a loading bay or between separated production areas on a factory floor, doors play a vital role in protecting a workplace from external weather conditions, vermin ingress, atmospheric contamination and temperature variation - they are also responsible for regulating the flow of traffic. Specifying a door which is able to monitor its surroundings and open and close automatically can go a long way to improving traffic flow and ultimately increasing productivity by reducing bottlenecks.
DIFFERENT TECHNOLOGIES Automatic door operation is available using many different technologies, which all perform differently. Simple radar, or motion sensing technology, can detect approaching traffic and pedestrians from up to ten metres away which means in areas of high flow the door will not cause an obstruction. However, many applications may require a level of security, only allowing access to authorised personnel. Here radio or infrared transmitters can be used. Again, the door will open automatically so as not to obstruct flow, however, only personnel or vehicles with the appropriate transmitters will be granted access. Equally a work area may be unsuitable for pedestrian access. In this case induction loops can be set into the floor which are set to be activated by certain weights. sara LBS combines automatic operation
with its Sprint range of high speed doors to ensure that even the fastest forklifts are not obstructed. The doors can detect an approaching vehicle and open at up to 3.0m/s, meaning that the door is fully
open before the vehicle reaches it. With similar closing speeds the door’s cycle time is the quickest on the UK market, meaning that the door is carrying out its primary job of protection for longer. There are too many possible activation systems to list, but ultimately it’s possible to find a solution that allows the door to become a useful tool in affecting site wide efficiency, rather than a simple protective barrier. It doesn’t end there either, sensing technology can be used to improve site safety and prevent accidents as well. Doors can be programmed to detect
possible obstructions and avoid contact. This prevents damage to equipment and product while also providing greater personnel safety. Again there are many technologies which provide this protection.
Left: the patented sara non-contact safety beam detects an obstruction before the curtain makes contact, meaning that no contact damage or injury can occur
Right: sara LBS combines automatic operation with its Sprint range of high speed doors to ensure that even the fastest forklifts are not obstructed
within an inch of the curtain, meaning that a stray box left next to the door won’t prevent it from closing.
Photocells positioned by the door prevent doors from closing if any object is within their boundary. Self testing contact edges are also popular, reversing automatically if the curtain makes light contact with anything as it closes. However, the most sophisticated systems are able to run in front of the door. The pre-running systems, like the sara non-contact safety beam, detect an obstruction before the curtain makes contact. This means that no contact damage or injury can occur. Unlike photocells, these systems are accurate to
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SUMMARY By designing automation technology into industrial doors, it provides end users the added advantage of integrating them with other equipment on-site. Loading bay doors can communicate with traffic lights, opening automatically as lorries approach, or with alarm systems, acting as a fire door for example. It’s also possible to integrate doors into automated production lines. sara LBS is able to supply machine protection doors which prevent machinery from operating unless they are fully closed for example. As with all technologies, it’s important to strike the right balance between performance and cost when specifying a door. Depending on the requirements of the application (e.g. traffic, security, protection) different options will be more efficient than others. Most high quality suppliers will be able to offer guidance on the latest technology and provide help during specification and installation to make sure that you find the perfect solution.
sara LBS
www.saralbs.co.uk T: 01442 245 577
Enter 209 AUTOMATION | NOVEMBER 2014 23
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