What is Safety Light Curtains?

Rather than using sensors to manage and maintain automated processes, safety light curtains act as access control barriers, using sensors to protect personnel and machinery from harm. By using safety light curtains in conjunction with pieces of heavy machinery, plant operators can prevent technicians from accidentally putting fingers, hands or other extremities in harm’s way.

These “curtains” consist of two sensor arrays that are placed facing one another. When a hand, finger or other object passes between the two arrays, an optical signal is interrupted and the sensor is tripped. The curtains can be integrated with different pieces of equipment so that they automatically stop operating when the sensor is triggered.

By virtue of their slim form factor, safety light curtains can be installed in areas as small as 26 x 26 mm. The height of the protective field can also be as low as 161 mm, or as high as 1610 mm. You can also install several different safety light curtain units in tandem with one another to protect machinery from a number of different angles and directions.

They are versatile, simple to install, and extremely effective at preventing dangerous accidents.