MechTech March 2016 Final

Mechanical Technology — March 2016

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Automation, mechatronics and electro-mechanical systems

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Stainless steel

safety hinge solution

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

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.