Modular and flexible: made-to-measure, user-friendly machine safety - The new Flexi Compact safety controller from SICK offers scalability and functionality to suit any application

Nov 23, 2020

Waldkirch, August 2020 – The Flexi Compact from SICK is a new modular safety controller that is distinguished by its improved usability and safety engineering. At the same time, it enables users of automated machines to operate them more productively thanks to its scalable performance and intelligent diagnostic functions of the safety controller. The Flexi Compact can be integrated into a variety of fieldbuses and Industry 4.0 applications. Compact systems, robots, packaging machines and basic motion control applications benefit from a maximum degree of future security.

The safety controller is the central component of every safety application. It evaluates the information from the safety-certified optical sensors and switches. Its safety function guarantees the safe response of all connected actuators. The new Flexi Compact, a safety controller for machines with medium to complex safety logic, is characterized by its exceptional user-friendliness, flexibility, efficiency and cost effectiveness.

Improved usability

The new Flexi Compact safety controller offers users in the machine building sector improved usability in many areas. The modular hardware platform enables it to be integrated in a flexible, application-appropriate, and cost-efficient manner. If the demands on the safety controller increase, it can subsequently be adapted or extended by up to 12 modules. The Safety Designer engineering tool with its certified function blocks guarantees intuitive, fast and easy configuration and documentation of the safety logic via drag and drop. The application-optimized slim housing saves space in the control cabinet. Front connectors can be assembled in advance and allow simple, time- and cost-efficient wiring. Codable slots offer additional installation safety. The TFT display visualizes all relevant inputs and settings during commissioning and servicing, which enables fast setup as well as immediate use of the safety controller.

“Faster safety” for more productivity

Protective devices that respond faster can be installed closer to the machine. This reduces their installation footprint. Thanks to its fast response times, Flexi Compact supports this type of space-saving machine and safety design. Its safety-certified high-speed backplane bus is characterized by its short response times. This enables safety distances to the machine to be optimized, and shorter cycle times to be achieved in highly dynamic processes. Gateways in commonly used fieldbus environments and automation systems allow sensor information and machine data to be continuously provided to Industry 4.0 applications.

With intelligent real time diagnostics for more availability

Sometimes troubleshooting can be like finding the proverbial needle in a haystack. In a company, this costs not only nerves but also time and money. Not so for the Flexi Compact: it reads application-specific diagnostic data in real time and makes it available for condition monitoring. This makes localizing and analyzing faults a fast process. Evaluations of sensor information for predictive maintenance purposes are also available more quickly. In this way, the Flexi Compact makes an effective contribution to minimizing downtimes and production outages.

Safety for all kinds of applications

The trend towards miniaturization in machine building is leading to an increased demand for space saving safety controllers. That is why the Flexi Compact is being employed, amongst other things, in compact systems, on robots, and in packaging machines. Furthermore, when combined with the Flexi Loop safe series connection, it is ideally suited for machines with decentralized safety paths. 

SICK is one of the world’s leading solutions providers for sensor-based applications in the industrial sector. Founded in 1946 by Dr.-Ing. e. h. Erwin Sick, the company with headquarters in Waldkirch im Breisgau near Freiburg ranks among the technological market leaders. With more than 50 subsidiaries and equity investments as well as numerous agencies, SICK maintains a presence around the globe. In the 2019 fiscal year, SICK had more than 10,000 employees worldwide and a group revenue of around EUR 1.8 billion. Additional information about SICK is available on the Internet at http://www.sick.com 

 
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Modular hardware platform for maximum flexibility: the new Flexi Compact safety controller from SICK offers made-to-measure, user-friendly machine safety