Posted to News on 19th Nov 2010, 06:52
New guide to drives and functional safety of machinery
GAMBICA has published a new Guide to Variable Speed Drives and Functional Safety of Machinery, which sets out the functional safety considerations relating to the selection and application of power drive systems to machinery.
A machine's control system can play a part in its safety performance and the installation of a drive into a machine has the potential to affect that safety performance - hence the implications must be considered carefully. Selection of a drive with appropriate safety functions is therefore critical, as is the subsequent integration of that drive with other components in the machine's control system.
GAMBICA's new guide is written for machine builders and system integrators designing new machines and upgrading existing machines with new drives incorporating safety functions. In particular, the guide has been prepared in the light of the recently published IEC 61800-5-2 Adjustable speed electrical power drive systems. Part 5-2: Safety requirements - Functional. In addition, however, there is a useful Annex that address the subject of removing torque using a contactor - and the pitfalls to avoid.
Running to 24 pages, the guide features four main sections:
- Introduction
- Drives and machinery safety
- Functional safety standards for machinery
- Functional safety standards for power drive systems
The Guide to Variable Speed Drives and Functional Safety of Machinery is an excellent publication and can be downloaded for free as a PDF from the GAMBICA Technical Publications page.
