Clearing The Way For Cylinder Production
Vaillant develop products for heat, cooling and hot water. 54 plants are to be modernised to upgrade the production of hot water storage cylinders to state-of-the-art electrical and safety technology, all with the help of Pilz...
The safety design for cylinder production was to incorporate a barrier-free solution for two older production lines, combining safety with efficiency. The loading and unloading area presented a challenge, as it was to be free of any disruptive structures.
Who Are Vaillant?
The Vaillant Group is a global market and technology leader in heating, ventilation and air-conditioning technology. For over 140 years, Vaillant has been following a strategy designed to achieve sustainable and profitable growth. Today, the family-owned company has 10 production and development sites in six European countries and in China.
"In each phase, cooperation with Pilz was open and in a spirit of partnership.
We received good, competent advice at all times. It's not an installation that
you would just come up with!"
- Jörg Holzportz, Industrial Engineer at Vaillant
Safety That's Almost Artistic
After an initial hazard assessment, Pilz then began to develop an unusual safety solution using their light curtains, PSENopt II. The individual positioners are accessible from three sides and secure the cylinders of different sizes, which are fed in both manually and with a crane. Pilz supported this huge modernisation in a spirit of partnership; being there from the hazard assessment, safety concept and safety design all the way through to actual system implementation. They developed the solution during a joint workshop: the PSENopt II light curtains were tilted ninety degrees and the transmitter was strategically embedded horizontally into the floor with the receivers installed above on the ceiling.
Exchanging Between The Human and The Machine
The clever installation positions meant it was possible for the exchange between human and machine to happen, and to be free from barriers all without compromising safety. The Pilz safe configurable small controller PNOZmulti2 manages all the safety-related signals. So, if a plant operator was to interrupt the light beams being transmitted from the floor, or step on one of the upstream pressure-sensitive mats, the PNOZmulti2 will be ready to trigger an immediate and safe stop of the hazardous environment - no barriers in sight!
The Benefits at a Glance:
- Allows older production lines to be operated safely and in compliance with the standards for further years to come
- Barrier-free safety solution offers higher productivity and greater freedom of movement for operators
- Based on the configurable small controller PNOZmulti2, expansion modules can be used to extend the system individually
Looking for more information? We can help with that...
If you want to know more about Pilz Safety Light Curtains, or have any questions, don't hesitate to get in touch on 01254 658900 and our Internal Sales Advisors or Technical Support Engineers will be happy to chat!
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