{"id":32645,"date":"2019-03-20T12:52:35","date_gmt":"2019-03-20T11:52:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.expo21xx.com\/news\/?p=32645"},"modified":"2019-03-28T17:33:21","modified_gmt":"2019-03-28T16:33:21","slug":"sick-flexchain-detection-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.expo21xx.com\/news\/sick-flexchain-detection-system\/","title":{"rendered":"SICK exhibited its new FlexChain detection system for the first time at the SPS IPC Drives trade fair"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
The innovative concept behind the FlexChain flexible light grid allows up to 60 different sensors to be positioned individually. No other automation light grid currently available offers more freedom in terms of design or installation.
Photo by Sick AG<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Instead of rigid enclosure profiles with fixed sender and receiver modules SICK offers a flexible \u201clight chain\u201d of cascading sensors that can be flexibly positioned, easily connected, and centrally evaluated \u2013 this is the newly designed concept behind the FlexChain detection system. The only one of its kind in the world, which were presented for the first time at the SPS IPC Drives trade fair held in Nuremberg. The up to 60 individual beams of this flexible light grid can not only be arranged independently of one another, but also generated by either through-beam photoelectric sensors, photoelectric retro-reflective sensors, or photoelectric proximity sensors \u2013 including in a mixed configuration. The cascading of sensors connected to a common FlexChain host minimizes cabling costs. Detailed real-time diagnostic information on the status of each individual sensor can be evaluated in the compact central unit, directly, or forwarded to a control at any time via IO-Link. This ensures maximum detection reliability and measurement certainty, as well as consistent system and machine availability. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Free positioning of sensors, individual beam separation, various detection methods and sensing ranges, as well as an easy way of subsequently adding more sensors into the cascade \u2013 FlexChain represents a paradigm shift in how automation light grids are designed and used. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Single-cable cascading from the host to the end of the \u201clight chain\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A FlexChain system may be configured from up to 60 sensors. Similar to a light chain, these are cabled as a cascade using pigtails in customizable lengths, minimizing electrical installation effort compared to individually wired photoelectric sensors and making the process of integrating the sensors into a plant much simpler. The flexible sensor system is controlled via the FlexChain host, which is a compact central unit with a CANopen fieldbus interface, an RS-485 interface, and an IO-Link connection for flexible integration into the machine or plant\u2019s control environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sequential cycling for maximum detection reliability <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The FlexChain operates like a light grid. It achieves maximum measurement certainty and detection reliability irrespective of how the sensors are arranged and how far away they are from each other; this is because the individual beams cycle sequentially at a rate of 200 \u00b5s, which prevents sensors from mutually interfering and sensor signals from being superimposed, even if the optics modules are mounted extremely close together. Incorrect measurement data and output signals are thus safely avoided and the light grid runs reliably all the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sensor positioning: from fixed to flexible<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In contrast to conventional light grids, the innovative FlexChain concept allows the different sensors to be positioned individually, making it possible to vary the beam separation according to the application. A FlexChain system also enables measuring ranges and detection zones of different widths to be set up within a single task. What\u2019s more, the user is totally free to choose the best detection principle for their needs: through-beam photoelectric sensors, photoelectric retro-reflective sensors, or photoelectric proximity sensors from the G6 family of sensor products (which have been fitted with a special ASIC for the flexible light grid) can be integrated into the FlexChain. They can even be used in combination with each other. Therefore, the FlexChain is a system that offers a great deal of freedom when it comes to design and installation \u2013 while also avoiding the disadvantages of conventional photoelectric sensor solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ready to go straightaway at the touch of a button<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The FlexChain light grid can be commissioned immediately via the two-button display of the host module. All connected sensors are identified, addressed, and taught-in automatically at the touch of a button. It is also possible to configure application-specific logics in the host. Customized parameterization can be performed via USB with the aid of the SOPAS SICK software tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Real-time diagnostics for maximum reliability and availability<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sensor data can either be evaluated in the system directly or forwarded to the control. FlexChain also offers a range of real-time diagnostic options in parallel to this \u2013 including in relation to sensor parameterization, the degree of contamination of the individual sensors, and current communication behavior within the system. Potential faults are detected early, so failures and downtimes can be prevented efficiently.<\/p>\n\n\n

For more information, please visit http:\/\/www.sick.com<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Instead of rigid enclosure profiles with fixed sender and receiver modules SICK offers a flexible \u201clight chain\u201d of cascading sensors that can be flexibly positioned, easily connected, and centrally evaluated \u2013 this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":32646,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[45,244,477,526],"class_list":["post-32645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sensor-camera","tag-industrial-sensor","tag-light-sensor","tag-photoelectric-sensor","tag-sensor-technology"],"yoast_head":"\nSICK exhibited its new FlexChain detection system for the first time at the SPS IPC Drives trade fair - EXPO21XX.com NEWS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.expo21xx.com\/news\/sick-flexchain-detection-system\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kamil\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.expo21xx.com\\\/news\\\/sick-flexchain-detection-system\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.expo21xx.com\\\/news\\\/sick-flexchain-detection-system\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kamil\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.expo21xx.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a3bdd56e105c5a6e13cc451f3b6d1959\"},\"headline\":\"SICK exhibited its new FlexChain detection system for the first time at the SPS IPC Drives trade fair\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-03-20T11:52:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-03-28T16:33:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.expo21xx.com\\\/news\\\/sick-flexchain-detection-system\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":750,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.expo21xx.com\\\/news\\\/sick-flexchain-detection-system\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.expo21xx.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/featured-Sick-FlexChain-detection-system.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"industrial sensor\",\"light sensor\",\"photoelectric sensor\",\"sensor technology\"],\"articleSection\":[\"\u00bb Sensors\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.expo21xx.com\\\/news\\\/sick-flexchain-detection-system\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.expo21xx.com\\\/news\\\/sick-flexchain-detection-system\\\/\",\"name\":\"SICK exhibited its new FlexChain detection system for the first time at the SPS IPC Drives trade fair - EXPO21XX.com NEWS\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.expo21xx.com\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.expo21xx.com\\\/news\\\/sick-flexchain-detection-system\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.expo21xx.com\\\/news\\\/sick-flexchain-detection-system\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.expo21xx.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/featured-Sick-FlexChain-detection-system.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-03-20T11:52:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-03-28T16:33:21+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.expo21xx.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a3bdd56e105c5a6e13cc451f3b6d1959\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.expo21xx.com\\\/news\\\/sick-flexchain-detection-system\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.expo21xx.com\\\/news\\\/sick-flexchain-detection-system\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.expo21xx.com\\\/news\\\/sick-flexchain-detection-system\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.expo21xx.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/featured-Sick-FlexChain-detection-system.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.expo21xx.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/featured-Sick-FlexChain-detection-system.jpg\",\"width\":266,\"height\":159},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.expo21xx.com\\\/news\\\/sick-flexchain-detection-system\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.expo21xx.com\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"SICK exhibited its new FlexChain detection system for the first time at the SPS IPC Drives trade fair\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.expo21xx.com\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.expo21xx.com\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"EXPO21XX.com NEWS\",\"description\":\"Robotics and industrial factory automation, sensors, material handling and renewable energy news magazine\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.expo21xx.com\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.expo21xx.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a3bdd56e105c5a6e13cc451f3b6d1959\",\"name\":\"Kamil\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/109b53a0c68d37db1287943ecba6e22713e24cfc63b96c161ff00f0c2bfb3f93?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/109b53a0c68d37db1287943ecba6e22713e24cfc63b96c161ff00f0c2bfb3f93?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/109b53a0c68d37db1287943ecba6e22713e24cfc63b96c161ff00f0c2bfb3f93?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kamil\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.expo21xx.com\\\/news\\\/author\\\/kamil\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"SICK exhibited its new FlexChain detection system for the first time at the SPS IPC Drives trade fair - EXPO21XX.com NEWS","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.expo21xx.com\/news\/sick-flexchain-detection-system\/","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kamil","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.expo21xx.com\/news\/sick-flexchain-detection-system\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.expo21xx.com\/news\/sick-flexchain-detection-system\/"},"author":{"name":"Kamil","@id":"https:\/\/www.expo21xx.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/a3bdd56e105c5a6e13cc451f3b6d1959"},"headline":"SICK exhibited its new FlexChain detection system for the first time at the SPS IPC Drives trade fair","datePublished":"2019-03-20T11:52:35+00:00","dateModified":"2019-03-28T16:33:21+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.expo21xx.com\/news\/sick-flexchain-detection-system\/"},"wordCount":750,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.expo21xx.com\/news\/sick-flexchain-detection-system\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.expo21xx.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/featured-Sick-FlexChain-detection-system.jpg","keywords":["industrial sensor","light sensor","photoelectric sensor","sensor technology"],"articleSection":["\u00bb Sensors"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.expo21xx.com\/news\/sick-flexchain-detection-system\/","url":"https:\/\/www.expo21xx.com\/news\/sick-flexchain-detection-system\/","name":"SICK exhibited its new FlexChain detection system for the first time at the SPS IPC Drives trade fair - EXPO21XX.com NEWS","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.expo21xx.com\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.expo21xx.com\/news\/sick-flexchain-detection-system\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.expo21xx.com\/news\/sick-flexchain-detection-system\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.expo21xx.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/featured-Sick-FlexChain-detection-system.jpg","datePublished":"2019-03-20T11:52:35+00:00","dateModified":"2019-03-28T16:33:21+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.expo21xx.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/a3bdd56e105c5a6e13cc451f3b6d1959"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.expo21xx.com\/news\/sick-flexchain-detection-system\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.expo21xx.com\/news\/sick-flexchain-detection-system\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.expo21xx.com\/news\/sick-flexchain-detection-system\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.expo21xx.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/featured-Sick-FlexChain-detection-system.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.expo21xx.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/featured-Sick-FlexChain-detection-system.jpg","width":266,"height":159},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.expo21xx.com\/news\/sick-flexchain-detection-system\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.expo21xx.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"SICK exhibited its new FlexChain detection system for the first time at the SPS IPC Drives trade fair"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.expo21xx.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.expo21xx.com\/news\/","name":"EXPO21XX.com NEWS","description":"Robotics and industrial factory automation, sensors, material handling and renewable energy news magazine","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.expo21xx.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.expo21xx.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/a3bdd56e105c5a6e13cc451f3b6d1959","name":"Kamil","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/109b53a0c68d37db1287943ecba6e22713e24cfc63b96c161ff00f0c2bfb3f93?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/109b53a0c68d37db1287943ecba6e22713e24cfc63b96c161ff00f0c2bfb3f93?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/109b53a0c68d37db1287943ecba6e22713e24cfc63b96c161ff00f0c2bfb3f93?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kamil"},"url":"https:\/\/www.expo21xx.com\/news\/author\/kamil\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.expo21xx.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32645","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.expo21xx.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.expo21xx.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.expo21xx.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.expo21xx.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32645"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.expo21xx.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32645\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32648,"href":"https:\/\/www.expo21xx.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32645\/revisions\/32648"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.expo21xx.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32646"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.expo21xx.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.expo21xx.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.expo21xx.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}