Ray McCann – N.E. Pneumatic Specialist
Linda Caron – Global product manager for Factory Automation, Pneumatic Division
We’re here to help!
As an engineer, it’s important to welcome the latest and safest technologies. In our field, the top priority is ensuring the safety of both people and machinery. Safety comes first, without exceptions.
Even in factory automation, we’re increasingly prioritizing smarter controls, devices, and components to improve safety. The newest pneumatic solutions now include features like clamping, blocking, exhausting, and equipment retention to enhance safety measures.
What makes a product a safety component?
Let’s break down the Machinery Directive rule. This rule says that a product is considered a safety component when it’s tested and proven to do a specific job safely for a certain time and under certain conditions.
The Machinery Directive also explains the difference between safety devices and regular pneumatic components used in safety circuits. It’s important to know that just because something is called a ‘safety component,’ it doesn’t automatically mean it’s super reliable or safe. Items marked as safety-rated have to pass tough tests for certification and approval. Also, the Machinery Directive doesn’t make it mandatory to use safety-rated equipment; it simply sets rules for selling something as safety-rated.
How to figure out how much safety you need?
Engineers estimate how risky things are and decide what level of performance is needed (PLr).
Three-part risk assessment:
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- Analysis
- Evaluation
- Reduction
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Once the PLr is figured out, engineers calculate the performance level (PL) using safety categories. This can be things like how well the control system can diagnose issues (DC), how long it takes for something dangerous to fail (MTTFD), and if failures happen together (CCF). All these things together decide how safe a function is.
Follow this plan, and you can also have peace of mind by choosing safety-rated products from good suppliers. Not following rules can cost you a lot. Let’s prioritize safety and using certified parts is a smart choice for making machines last longer and run smoother.