Forked light barriers with IO-Link
After equipping the type OG forked light barriers with IO-Link in 2019 and gaining consistently positive experience with them, ipf electronic has now also decided to integrate an IO-Link interface into the type PG laser forked light barriers. In view of the constantly growing digitalization of production landscapes, this is certainly an important further development towards Industry 4.0 with many advantages for our customers.
The forked light barriers are parameterized with an IO link master (e.g. VY000005), with a total of 4 operating modes available: Standard (switching frequency up to 5000Hz and a resolution of up to 0.05mm), High Resolution (increased resolution min. 0.03mm for small part detection), Power mode (higher transmitting power with increased functional reserve for improved contamination compensation) and Speed mode with a switching frequency of up to 10,000Hz. Other setting options include the selection of the switching output (push-pull, PNP or NPN) and the switching function (NC, NO). A switch-on or turn-off delay can also be assigned to the switching output. Several teach-in versions have been integrated to simplify the setting of process values, e.g. the size of an object to be detected. It is now possible to either teach in individual values (single value teach-in), determine values during the running process (dynamic teach-in) or teach in two teach points (two-value teach-in) in order to realize a switching threshold at the output.
The forked light barriers also have a diagnostics function for assessing process stability, device status and teach-in quality. Current process values, part counting, the temperature of the device, min/max values and teach-in switching points can now also be called up. This reduces the previous range of devices to one solution per size, which can be used flexibly and at the same time offers a wide range of options for obtaining valuable data to increase process reliability. Although the new solutions offer added intelligence, their handling remains as usual: for example, the response sensitivity can be set manually via a potentiometer. The preset of the output function (NO/NC) is also still done via a rotary switch.
The new laser forked light barriers are available with 4 different fork widths (30, 50, 80 and 120mm). The housing of the forked light barriers is made of zinc diecast and is powder-coated, making it more resistant than painted housing. The optics are made of glass. The forks have a push-pull output stage and can therefore be used as PNP or NPN systems. The operating voltage is 10...30V; the output current is 100mA. The forks have laser protection class 1 and are connected via an M8 connector.
