Please Note: We do not supply light guards for use on Press brakes
Light Guard Stands
Sponmech manufacture strong, rigid, shockproof and fully adjustable light guard stands. Made to order, they are a hugely popular addition to our light guard supply. Powder coat finished in any RAL colour of customer choosing.
Light Guards
Please Note: We do not supply light guards for use on Press brakes
We offer a Light Guard range to partner Sponmech's bespoke perimeter guard lines and our stock "Access Budget Safety Perimeter Fencing" systems.
Customers who require our standard, acoustic and machine tool guards often require Light Guards as well.
Sponmech supply cost effective light guard solutions. We are also happy to quote stand alone light guard solutions.
We supply a wide range of Light Guards including ReeR safety light curtains.
Safety light curtains
NOTE! Standard photocells do not meet the failure tolerance requirements and must therefore not be used in safety applications.
Please Note: We do not supply lightguards for use on Press brakes
Safety light curtains Note: We do not supply for use on pressbrakes .
Safety light curtains are very useful safety devices which provide high accessibility to machinery and can monitor
large areas. There are different systems to choose between depending on the required function and level of safety.
Safety requirements are laid down in international standards. There are different levels of safety depending on the type of risk.
NOTE! Standard photocells do not meet the failure tolerance requirements and must therefore not be used in safety applications.
When should you use a safety light curtain?
When continuous access to the danger area is necessary, for manually operated machines for example.
When large areas need to be safeguarded.
When there is a continuous passage of goods.
When mechanical protection is unpractical or ergonomically flawed.
Muting
For practical reasons in certain applications and automatic processes it may be necessary to disconnect the safety light curtain's safety function.
The use of muting on a safety light curtain requires a risk assessment of the machine, in accordance with EN954-1, to study whether there are hazards involved in muting a safety light curtain.
Muting can be used in the following circumstances
Material acts on the safety light curtain during in and outfeed in the automatic process.
Materials handling requires the operator to be located so that he activates the safe safety light curtain.
The machine is in a safe state.
The following conditions must be met in the system for muting according to EN954-1 and EN415-4:
Muting is only permissible in the process when safety can be maintained using alternative methods, for example when a loaded pallet prevents
access to the danger area.
Muting must be fully automatic, e.g. independent of operator intervention.
The initiation of muting must not take place using a single electric signal.
The initiation of muting must not rely on a software signal from the machine's control system.
Muting signals that are activated in the incorrect order are either not to permit a muted state or to stop the machine immediately.
The safety light curtain safety function must be connected immediately the goods have passed the detection area.
In the event of a blockage in the infeed or outfeed of the conveyor belt, e.g. a pallet gets stuck in the field and is blocking the safe beams in the protection,muting must be disconnected and stop the machine. With manual inspection the operation of the relevant conveyor is permitted in order to remove the pallet causing the blockage.
Restarting the machine is only possible when a safe state is reached.
Selection of safety category
One way of deciding on an appropriate safety category for different types of proximity sensor for example safety light curtain, safety mats, scanners etc, is to run through the following procedure:
1) Analyse the risks and requirements for the safety device in normal conditions. Take maintenance into consideration etc.
2) Establish the exposure of the operator and other personnel in the danger area.
3) Assess the degree of severity of injuries that could be caused if an accident occurs
Exposure can be assessed as follows:
Low once a day Average between once a day and once an hour High more than once per hour
The severity of injury can be divided into:
Slight (normally reversible injury). Serious irreversible injury (cannot heal). Based on the above assessment one can now select the category required according to the following:
Category 2
Where a non-serious (reversible) injury can occur with a low to average exposure, only a low level of safety is required for the safety device. A safety light curtain of at least category 2 must be selected.
Category 3
Where a non-serious (reversible) injury can occur with an average to high exposure, or a serious (irreversible) injury can occur with low to average exposure, a higher level of safety is required for the safety device. A safety light curtain of at least category 3 must be selected.
Category 4
Where a serious (irreversible) injury can occur with an average to high exposure, the highest level of safety is required for the safety device. A safety light curtain of at least category 4 must be selected. Of course other types of risk analysis can be used instead of, or to complement, the above method. It is a good idea to see if anything is specified in the C standard (machinery standard) which is appropriate for the application. (source of IEC 62046)
Exposure Low Average High
Not serious cat. 2 cat. 2/3 cat. 3
Serious cat. 3 cat. 3/4 cat. 4
Range of application
Safety light curtain are used as an invisible fence around a danger area. When anybody passes the safety light curtain the machine stops. A safety light curtain can have two or more light beams as necessary in accordance with the risk assessment If the guard allows full body access, manual reset is to take place outside the danger area.
Range of application
The safety light curtain with muting is a special type of safety light curtain which can tell the difference between goods and personnel. These are used for the automatic infeed and outfeed of goods. If the guard allows full body access, manual reset is to take place outside the danger area.
Practical tips for the automatic passage of goods
This type of safety light curtain is often installed above a conveyor belt by an infeed or outfeed. It is important that the safety light curtain be installed taking into account where on the goods the special muting sensors are to register. For this reason supplementary mechanical protection may be necessary to prevent personnel going under or over the protective field of the safety light curtain. For further information see the section “Fencing system” or contact OEM Automatic, Safety product area.
Range of application
Safety light curtains can be used in two ways. Vertically mounted to detect a hand entering a dangerous area. This is common for manually operated machines for example. Horizontally mounted to detect an area in front of a dangerous machine movement. If the guard allows full body access, manual reset is to take place outside the danger area.
Practical tips for safety light curtains
Safe distance loading, i.e. the addition required for the actual curtain, depends on the resolution (distance between light beams) of the curtain. To obtain the total safe distance the following must also be included; the stop time of the machine and curtain and the operator's speed of movement.
