Now I’m at the airport with time for my next to the last observation from Hanover: I spent some time with PROFIsafe expert Wolfgang Stripf in front of the PROFIsafe display. Here’s the display:
It depicts an automotive example but applies to any dynamically changing process. The demo highlights safety functions in drives, dynamically reconfiguring a laser scanner, and integrating AS-I emergency stop buttons. Incidentally, the red square is a new type of camera-based “light curtain.” If you look closely at it you can see a little guy in a hard hat sitting on top. When you place him on the moving car, the laser scanner recognizes that more than the car is passing through and executes a safety stop. (The laser scanner is the yellow and black box at the top of the panel.) The new drive safety functions show the different options for creating a safe situation. It used to be that your only choice was to remove power, but now you also have the ability to go to a safe speed, a safe position, and more. The emergency stop buttons across the bottom are on the AS-I bus but are brought into the safety system. It’s hard to see in the photo but some of the devices are PROFIBUS devices and some are PROFINET.