Mechanical Technology — March 2016
29
⎪
Automation, mechatronics and electro-mechanical systems
⎪
Stainless steel
safety hinge solution
T
he Leuze S420 safety hinge switch
unites the safety switch and door
hinge functions in a single com-
ponent. This stainless steel safety hinge
switch, available from Countapulse Con-
trols, offers an ideal solution for mechani-
cally and hygienically challenging appli-
cations such as the food and beverage,
pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries.
There are numerous applications for
these high quality safety hinge switches. An
example would be for the position monitor-
ing of hard guards such as protective hoods
that can rotate by means of a monitoring
switch – without guard interlocking – inte-
grated into the hinge. The switch does not
requires an external actuator, which means
it is also suitable for use in environments
with high dust concentration levels or with
heavy particle loads.
Fault-free function is ensured, even with
warped or misaligned doors, by means of
a repeatable switching angle alignment
setting. The actuator is integrated into the
housing, while electrical connection is by
means of a cable or an M 12 plug, with op-
tional cable entry from above, below, from
the wall or mounting side. This allows for
the monitoring of all types of doors, hoods
and flaps. The safety hinge switch has an
opening angle of up to 180° that can be
adjusted as many times as needed.
The Leuze S420 stainless steel switch
offers optimum cleaning options even with
high pressure cleaning, thanks to a wall
side cable outlet, a high-grade surface with
a roughness of less than 0.8
µ
m and an
IP 67 or IP 69 K level of protection. In ad-
dition, covered tamper proof screws reduce
the risk of contamination.
This safety hinge switch is also recom-
mended for the wood product industry in
situations where high availability is critical
under dust and particle loads. Through the
six-point bolting of the joint, even heavy
doors can be guarded reliably and with
extended service intervals. Users can se-
lect from device versions featuring contact
blocks or safety related switching outputs
(OSSDs). This makes it possible to have
a series connection of 32 devices without
compromising the safety level.
Countapulse Controls has over 40 years’
experience in specialist sensing technology
and offers reliable, efficient
and application ap-
propriate sensing,
control and
motion detec-
tion solutions.
Above:
Through facilities such as the HILLA
shared R&D environments (SRE) VTT makes
state-of-the-art tools such as 3D printing
machines available to SME’s and start-ups.
Right:
The interactive solution takes advan-
tage of a human’s observation capacity to
help the robot carrying out the required task.
The
Leuze S420
stainless steel
switch from
Countapulse
Controls is ideal
for industries
where strict
cleanliness and
hygienic control
are critical.
and most critically, the creation of a
functional service chain.
Big production plants maintain large
inventories, where large numbers of
spare parts may wait for long periods
of time before being taken into use. “In
companies such as marine and energy
power solutions specialist, Wärtsilä, the
capital tied up in materials and equip-
ment may amount to hundreds of millions
of euros. If we could release, say 5.0%
of this capital by means of digitisation,
the impact would be substantial,” says
Jarno Salonen, business development
manager at Wärtsilä, which is one of the
companies participating in the project.
“We expect the project to create new
international business opportunities,”
says Tomi Kalpio, who is one of the main
owners and founders of 3DTech Oy, a
company that has already carried out
trials on 3D printed spare parts.
The project of about
€
1.4-million is
part of Tekes’ Industrial Internet pro-
gramme. The two-year project launched
at the beginning of 2016 is funded by
Tekes and the participating research
organisations and companies: 3D Online
Factory Ltd, 3DTech Oy, AM Finland Oy,
Hetitec Oy, Kone Corporation, Laserle Oy,
Materflow Oy, Multiprint 3D Oy, Patria
Aviation Oy, Raute Corporation, Rolls-
Royce Oy Ab, Sacotec Components Oy
and Wärtsilä Finland Oy.
The Federation of Finnish Technology
Industries functions as the co-operation
partner for the project. The first joint ef-
fort will be the open interactive workshop
(in Finnish) for companies to be held on
April 8, 2016, where the organisers pres-
ent the content and goals of the project
and the companies involved are invited
to highlight their own views.
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