Intelligent access protection on the CNC processing machine

deTec safety light curtains installed in a series connection intelligently protect access to the CNC processing machine. During machine operation, the horizontally-mounted safety light curtain is deactivated. Falling wood chips therefore do not impair the safety function. This ensures a high level of machine availability. If, however, an operator approaches the machine, this interrupts the light beams of the vertically-mounted light curtain. At the same time, the horizontally-mounted safety light curtain is activated, triggering a machine standstill. Monitoring is now performed to determine if an operator is located near the machine.