A new safety automation builder software tool should help engineers designing machine-safety systems in different languages.
Designed to help engineerfs save time while designing safety system, the Safety Automattion Builder software tool by Rockwell Automation was named one of the top 10 most innovative products at last year's SPS Drives shows in Germany. It's also been downloaded more than 15,000 times since its February 2013 launch.
"Many manufacturers are using the Safety Automation Builder tool to simplify selection of safety devices and to speed engineering time,” said David Reade, Rockwell Automation's business development consultant for safety and sensing. “Now they can achieve the same time savings when working across regions and languages.”
“We’re already seeing this in action,” Reade said. “One manufacturer in Italy used the Safety Automation Builder tool when collaborating with a system integrator in Hungary and a machine builder in Germany. The tool automatically translated the original design file into the other languages without changing any of the functional data, cutting engineering time and paperwork.”
The Safety Automation Builder software tool automates the safety-selection process. Users can import a machinery image they need to safeguard. Then they questions using a drop-down menu; help screens to identify and select the essential safeguards. The software consequently compiles all product selections, generates a bill of materials, and compiles necessary data to populate IFA’s SISTEMA (Safety Integrity Software Tool for Evaluation of Machine Applications). SISTEMA helps evaluate the system in accordance with ISO 13849-1:2008.