TwinSAFE safe drive technology

Dynamic movements of the electrical drive technology used in a machine can create considerable hazards to people and the environment. From a normative point of view, drive technology components must be considered in a safety-oriented manner by co-ordinating and monitoring certain movements and motion sequences. The integrated safety solution TwinSAFE enables the implementation of safe drive technology in three levels corresponding to the complexity of the machine. The safe drive components are able to switch the motor torque-free or to monitor speed, position and direction of rotation. No further devices such as contactors or circuit breakers are necessary in the supply lines for this. This enables a very lean installation and helps to lower costs and control cabinet space requirements. Even safe position monitoring or position range monitoring is simple to implement with the aid of the safe drive technology. This does not require any additional wiring, because the EtherCAT communication is used in the servo drives, enabling seamless communication between TwinSAFE Logic components and the safe drive technology.

Like the programming or configuration of a safety application, the entire parameterisation of the safe drive technology is performed from the TwinCAT software. All system-specific settings are stored together with the application in the TwinSAFE Logic components. For that reason, the safe drive components can be exchanged at any time without software modification. The respective component receives all the parameters necessary for operation at the next power-on or boot-up.