Intervention of man in the machine cycle is often inevitable – parts must be fed or removed, the machine must be cleaned or serviced. In this case, the safety of the operator must be guaranteed at all times. This responsibility is imposed on the manufacturer by the worldwide applicable standards and directives regarding machine safety. The efforts of the Schmersal group have for many years been directed to producing products for safety at the workplace. The range of safety switchgear and safety systems for the protection of man and machine is the largest in the world. Motivated by our motto “Safety in system – Protection for man and machine”, the different companies of the Schmersal Group develop and produce safety switchgear for all kinds of applications. We strongly believe that safety and productivity are no longer mutually exclusive. The extraordinary large product range is the result of a close relationship between the development and product management departments and our worldwide customers. Many products were developed fulfilling our customer’s wishes and application requirement. The expansion of Schmersal itself, which has developed from a small company into a strong group, has caused the product portfolio to become voluminous as well. Today, the Schmersal Group is profiling itself as a worldwide active association of companies and competence centres concentrating on a specific field of application of safety switchgear and safety systems. In this way, the Schmersal Group offers products and solutions for the safety of machinery in different fields of the packaging machinery construction. e.g. Non-food, Food processing industry, Pharmaceutical and Medical technology.

For the sensitive fields of the packaging technology, we have developed tailor-made product series, which do not only guarantee the safety of the machine, but also contribute to an enhanced productivity and availability. This applies for instance to plants, which were developed according to the Hygienic Design standards and to machines, for which the directives regarding the dust explosion protection must be observed during the filling and packing of bulk goods. In this industry, machinery and plants are often operated at high pace with short cycle times. They are frequently integrated in the entire production and/or packaging lines as well. This has major consequences for the selection and the design of safety systems.

  • The safety guards must not interrupt the production cycles or affect the productivity of the plants.
  • They must run with highest reliability.

The safety switchgear from the Schmersal Group are characterised by a long life-time even under unfavourable conditions and when operated 24/7. Many series, especially those, which are preferably used in the packing machinery industry, are designed so that any stop of the machine is avoided when possible. For example: safety sensors, safety switches and solenoid interlocks equipped with the Schmersal-patented CSS technology detect the slightest misalignment of the guard door and transmit a corresponding message to the control or the master display. The user then can realign the guard door before it become misaligned to such extent that for instance the safety sensor no longer responds to the actuator, thus preventing the start-up of the machine.

In complex plants, the communication between individual components is highly important. The Schmersal Group therefore offers a Diagnostic Gateway, for instance for the CSS series, for the transmission of non-safety-related, diagnostic information through default bus protocols. This provides for enhanced availability and quick troubleshooting in case of a failure.

When filling and packing organic dusts, the regulations regarding the dust-explosion protection must be observed. This applies both to foodstuffs in powder form, pharmaceutics and animal feed. The Schmersal Group offers a comprehensive programme of switchgear for automation and machinery safety, which is tested and certified in accordance with the ATEX and IECEx Directives.

During the packing of food and pharmaceutical products, special hygienic requirements must be observed as well. For the different hygienic zones (dry zone, splashing zone, wet zone and aggressive zone), Schmersal offers solutions, which meet the “Hygienic Design”. These solutions also include safety sensors, which can be smoothly cleaned due to the smooth surfaces of the sensor and the actuator and which are moreover suitable for concealed mounting. Depending on the requirements of the application, the safety switchgear are accordingly approved and certified in accordance with the foodstuff technology standards (Eco-lab, 3A Sanitary, FDA etc.).

The majority of packing machinery builders are operating at international level. This is true, not only for the “big players” on the market, but also for the numerous medium-sized companies, which are specialised in defined segments of market, fields of application or packaging technologies. These enterprises can rely on Schmersal for competent service and consultancy in approximately 50 nations.

For more information on the safety consulting services we offer please see our website, www.schmersal.co.uk

Alternatively you can visit our online catalogue www.schmersal.net  should you require datasheets, certificate of conformity or images for any of our products.

Phone: 01684 571980
Fax: 01684 560273
Email: uksupport@schmersal.com

Schmersal Ltd
Sparrowhawk Close
Enigma Business Park
Malvern
Worcestershire
WR14 1GL