Case packing and palletizing are among the areas of manufacturing on which systems integrator S&R Robot Systems LLC focuses. The firm’s primary responsibility is integrating end-of-line packaging systems. Needless to say, safety is a top priority when it comes to this work, and lately the programmable safety controller they’ve been using is the SC22-3 from Banner Engineering. It has 22 input terminals that can monitor outputs from Banner devices as well as those from other manufacturers.
“It interfaces with various safety equipment, such as E-stops, light curtains, or lockouts for gates so that when a user opens a gate into a robotic cell the appropriate level of safety redundancy is ensured,” says Jason Reagan, Manager at S&R Robotics.
In addition to functionality, good value was one of the things that made the Banner device attractive, says Reagan. It also complies with all current safety standards.
“We also like how flexible it is and that it’s easily configurable,” he adds. “It’s not like a PLC or you have to have an engineer that’s trying to do all the programming. I can bring somebody off the floor and the software that Banner has lets them use that software to easily configure the functionality of the safety controller by pick and place icons. It’s a very easy user interface for configuring the safety controller.”
The configuring can be done with built-in front-panel LCD display or PC interface. Live Display and a Fault Log provide real-time system and fault history identification.
