Robotics has transformed the maintenance needs of the packaging industry. General-purpose safety solutions are no longer suitable for this new generation of packaging machinery. Various equipment should incorporate safety controls, safety light curtains, and safety laser scanners to ensure complete safety and minimize product damage.
With the large-scale and flexible development of robot systems, robots are becoming increasingly integrated with production lines. Therefore, it is essential to strengthen safety measures and improve communication with operators.
In the past, maintenance solutions in the packaging industry generally followed the "If X, then Y" logic. Simple safety modules and preventative monitoring controllers could meet the needs of most packaging operations. By introducing flexible robotics technology, robots can perform multiple tasks using multi-tasking lines and responsibilities, making safety measures more complex.
Safety protection controllers: A robot needs multiple safety measures to function in multiple areas, such as emergency stop buttons, light curtains, and safety switches. Furthermore, these different functions need to be able to operate independently and in conjunction with each other.
Safety protection controllers offer an integrated approach that reduces the operational risks of managing multiple safety devices. Luo Baihui, Vice President of the Dongguan Robotics Technology Association, gave an example: if a machine has an emergency stop button, two-hand controls, a safety light curtain, and interlocking safety switches, then a safety protection controller can manage all operations using only a fraction of the cost of multiple safety modules or safety PLCs. Safety protection controllers can also provide multiple safety-related functions, such as mute or bypassing the safety light curtain, external device monitoring (EDM), monitoring manual reset functions, and logic functions to create different zones and conditional logic.
Visual status indicators: As robots and humans collaborate more closely, it is essential to inform every operator of the maintenance status. Visual safety status indicators are a rapidly growing trend. Emergency stop buttons, interlocking devices, and safety ropes all enhance communication, actuation, and stopping conditions.
Illuminated emergency stop buttons: yellow indicates the machine is in operation, while red indicates a stop condition has been triggered. Status indicators not only protect workers but are also highly effective for identifying problems on packaging lines—especially when a series of buttons are connected. Visual status indicators let operators know which button has been pressed, allowing them to quickly pinpoint the source of the problem and enabling workers to resolve it rapidly, getting the production line back online.
Optical protection technology: As robots are further integrated into upper-level packaging production lines, the possibility of robots working alongside humans increases. To avoid introducing cumbersome physical protective barriers for workers, optical protection technology is the best safety solution for robotic packaging applications.
Safety light curtains: When robots perform multiple tasks or support multiple production lines, different entry points for robot cells are presented. For example, a palletizing robot cell enters at a new pallet and slide and exits when the pallet is full. Safety light curtains effectively maintain multiple entry points with minimal damage. Through selectively silent safety light curtains, pallets and products can freely flow into and out of the cell, while protecting workers from hazardous areas.
Safety laser scanner: The safety laser scanner uses pulsed laser light to scan the surrounding environment and then compares the scanned information with a predefined area. If the scanner detects an object intruding into the robot's working area, such as a person, it can send a stop signal to the protective machine.
Area laser scanners are a versatile, non-invasive security measure. Unlike other hard-surveillance equipment, fences, or safety airbags, laser scanners operate without physical barriers. Security laser scanning is also an ideal solution for niche packaging applications where security light curtains cannot effectively cover areas.
Direct-flow rated equipment: When these machines enter the processing and primary packaging areas, they are able to come into contact with food, pharmaceutical, and other common direct-flow materials. These robots require IP67 and IP69K rated protection devices for protection. Direct-flow safety light curtains, emergency stops, and interlocking devices are becoming increasingly popular in the packaging industry.
