SICK Completes microScan3 Portfolio with Pro I/O Variant
February 9, 2022
SICK has announced its newest safety laser scanner, completing its microScan 3 portfolio. The microScan3 Pro I/O features an all-in-one design with universal I/O integration that can work with any safety controls, with an intelligent host/guest functionality that makes it possible to connect up to three guest scanners.
In addition, the Pro I/O variant can do the work of four standard safety laser scanners with an industry-leading four pairs of OSSD outputs, the company said. Two encoder inputs directly in the safety laser scanner for speed-based case switching.
The variant also includes 9-meter protective field range, safeHDDM scanning technology, a 275-scanning angle, and Ethernet connectivity. The addition of I/O connectivity with Ethernet gives users the best of both worlds: the I/O provides universal and versatile use, while Ethernet allows for full digitalization functions, such as configuration, diagnostics, and measurement data.
The device’s 275-degree scanning angle provides four-sided protection when two scanners are mounted on diagonal corners of a vehicle. Four-sided protection with two scanners helps to reduce associated installation and integration costs, because most operations with four-sided protection require four scanners, SICK said.
The direct encoders are able to tell the scanner what speed the vehicle is going; when it’s going faster, the scanner can then look out further to detect any obstacles. As the vehicle slows down, it then can bring the protective fields in closer to reduce the chance of false trips.
In addition, the connection of four pairs of OSSDs means that three pairs can initiate the slowing down of the vehicle, while the remaining pair initiates the stopping of the vehicle. SICK said this is just one of the combinations in which the four OSSDs can be used. “However, no matter the number of outputs designated to the different movements of the vehicle, the ability to slow down, stop, and go maximizes flexibility and productivity, as opposed to just having the ability to just stop and go,” said SICK.
In another use case, SICK said industrial robot applications in the automotive industry can benefit from the four pairs of OSSDs. With the Pro I/O variant, up to four of the simultaneously monitored fields can have their own dedicated safety output, helping to increase productivity because of their ability to incrementally slow down a robot rather than just stop or go.
For stationary applications, the combination of the 9-meter protective field range and the four pairs of OSSDs lets customers safeguard adjacent machines. For example, if two robots are working side by side, a microScan 3 Pro I/O can be placed between them and divide the four pairs of OSSDs between them. This means that when a worker approaches a robot, only that robot would slow down and/or stop, allowing the other to continue working so as not to completely halt operations and productivity.
For more details on the scanners, visit the SICK website here.
