Modular safety system cuts costs and complexity

A Rockwell Automation - Allen-Bradley Guardmaster product story

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Jun 11, 2002

The MSR200 modular safety system overcomes both the cost and complexity of using discrete safety relays and programmable safety systems for monitoring shutdown control circuits on plant and machinery.

The new MSR200 modular safety system from Allen-Bradley Guardmaster overcomes both the cost and complexity of using discrete safety relays and programmable safety systems for monitoring shutdown control circuits on plant and machinery.

Offering a simple, cost effective and highly reliable solution for complex safety tasks, the MSR200 can be adapted in a modular manner to accommodate up to 22 emergency stop sensing devices, without time consuming programming, wiring or commissioning.

The MSR200 is a Safety Category 4 (Stop Category 0) system, offering features that are ideal for today's increasingly decentralised control environment.

Easily expandable, the MSR200 overcomes the problems of complicated individual wiring of safety relays, and the cost of programmable systems, with a modular design that allows the required number of safety control outputs to be configured exactly to specific application requirements.

This is achieved using a combination of autoconfiguration modules, which require no programming, and simple plug and play technology, which ensures easy and reliable setup.

The flexibility of the MSR200 design means that centralised safety monitoring of protection areas having different risk categories can be undertaken, with just one MSR200 system able to monitor safety door contacts, light barriers, contact mats or conventional Emergency Stop buttons, limit switches, photo switches, protection door switches and stop sensing devices.

High system reliability is ensured in the monitoring of all of these devices by the MSR200's use of redundant microprocessor technology.

The MSR200 offers considerable installation cost savings due to the reduced number of wires required for "emergency off" as well as monitoring circuits.

The system also provides considerable space saving: the base module for example is only 45mm wide yet integrates two inputs, two safety outputs, an alarm output and two semiconductor outputs.

System expansion is achieved via two bus interface connectors on the base module front panel.

These enable input and output extensions to be added without the requirement for additional wiring and control contacts.

To save installation time, the expansion modules are delivered pre-wired with adapters for the power supply and data exchange with the base module.

Using the expansion modules up to 22 inputs can be controlled through one, two or three channels, depending upon the signal sensors being used and the safety requirements of the relevant area.

Complementing the operation of the standard modules, a diagnostics module ensures transparent operation by enabling data transfer to a PC for analysis and recording.

The transfer is accomplished via standard RS232/RS485 serial interfaces, with the added option of DeviceNet or Profibus modules for use with integrated, factory wide safety systems.

A simpler monitoring alternative is also available, using the MSR200's own diagnostic module.

This unit displays the status of, and undertakes automatic mode diagnosis and monitoring of all connected modules.

It also ensures that the most recent emergency stop event remains monitored until it is manually reset.

The many operating features of the MSR200 system, combined with its ability to configured quickly and easily to the task in hand, mean that the system ideal for use in safeguarding such typical operations as materials handling, manufacturing lines, and transfer lines in automotive, food processing, packaging, plastics and metal processing.

Additional uses include the safeguarding of production islands, robot cells and machining centres.

In these applications the protection systems offer the advantage that they can be networked to implement plant-wide safety systems.