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Safety first with new valve range from SMC

Valve range

New Valves range
Photo by SMC

The issue of manufacturing safety is now a critical consideration for all system operators and designers, as the introduction of international machine safety standards continue to accelerate at full throttle.

SMC, the world leader in pneumatics, is stepping up to the challenge and helping its customers meet stringent new safety standard ISO13849-1 with a new range of safety valves. ISO13849-1 provides safety requirements and guidance on the principles for the design and integration of safety-related parts of control systems, including the design of software. The Safety Standard aims to guarantee the protection of people working in close proximity to both machines and systems by providing the highest level of safety management.

Responding to ISO13849-1, SMC is supporting equipment manufacturers and end users considering safety design of equipment and machines in three ways; providing safety components, assistance in equipment selection and providing reliability data about its products (B10 and MTTF figures). As a result, SMC has launched a series of easy to use and maintain safety system valves with single and dual residual pressure release. Single residual pressure release valves VP542-X536 / VP742-X536 are designed to be used as a component in a Category 2 safety system and are able to detect a fault in the valve operation. The dual residual pressure release valves, VP544-X538 / VP744-X538 and VG342-X87 are designed to be used as components in Categories 3 and 4 and can also detect fault operation of the valves. They have two stations, so if one fails to operate, residual pressure is released by the remaining valve to maintain the safety function.

SMC is recognised as the global technology leader in the pneumatic industry and offers over 11,000 basic products with over 600,000 variations. The company has a diverse customer base covering all automation industries. For more information, please visit SMC’s New Product Section at www.smc.eu.

Note: The SMC VP and VG safety system valves are component function parts and ensure safety in the control system of the machine, but are not certified to safety standard ISO13849-1. Therefore, SMC recommends getting third party advice in regards to safety of the entire control system.