Abu Dhabi, UAE, 1 May 2018: Engineers can simplify their machine safety systems and improve safety performance using new controllers from Rockwell Automation, the company announced through a Press communiqué.

According to Rockwell Automation, the Allen-Bradley GuardLogix 5580 and Compact GuardLogix 5380 controllers can be scaled from safety system levels SIL 2/PLd to SIL 3/PLe. This scalability can help engineers optimise a safety system design and potentially reduce its costs, while adhering to the latest machine safety regulations, the communiqué said. The high-performance controllers also use increased processing power to achieve faster reaction times and shorter safe distances, which can help create smaller machines, save valuable floor space and increase operator efficiencies, the communiqué further said.

Dave Sullivan, Product Manager, Safety Systems, Rockwell Automation, said: “Many engineers build safety systems to a higher safety level than an application requires. Such systems end up having more components than they need, leading to increased complexity and costing more than they should. Our new controllers allow engineers to right-size a safety system and its cost to meet appropriate safety levels, without excess.”

According to Rockwell Automation, the new high-performing controllers can also help engineers consolidate the number of controllers they use in complex machines. Having a single high-performance controller, for both standard and safety control, can help improve productivity and reduce the system’s cost, complexity and cabinet size, the communiqué said.

The communiqué further said that other benefits of the new controllers include greater communications capacity and more productive use of machines. The communiqué added the GuardLogix 5580 and Compact GuardLogix 5380 controllers are TÜV certified for functional safety.