New Schmersal Websites

Schmersal is proud to announce the launch of its newly updated website: www.schmersalusa.com

Some highlights of the new site:

• Distributor Locator Maps
  Use our new interactive maps of the US or Canada to find contact information for our Distributors, Sales Representatives, and Regional Managers.
• Catalogs
  Find PDFs of all of our print catalog offerings.
• Safety Standards
  Find information about safety standards in the USA, Canada, and Europe.
• Video Tutorial
  View our videos on the topic of safety and machine guarding.
• Technical Articles
  Read whitepapers and technical articles on various machine safety topics.
• Literature
  A collection of books and other publications on machine guarding.
• Schedule
  See the schedule of training seminars, industry trade shows, and other events.
• Application Finder
  An update of our factory floor showing examples of applications.

Schmersal Online Product Catalog:
The new Schmersal USA website also has a new companion site: the online product catalog www.usa.schmersal.net

Here you will be able to find detailed technical information on most Schmersal products. Included for each product is PDF documentation (certificates of conformity, operating instructions), links to CAD drawings, images, and a breakdown of the ordering code.

The site is broken down into 5 major product categories: Safety Controls, Safety Modules, Automation Controls, Explosion Proof, and Elevator Controls.

New Product Highlight: SRB-100DR

The resetting of a safety controller helps to ensure that an unintended startup of a machine or hazardous condition is initialized. In an ideal environment, an operator will have clear view of the potential hazard and can declare a safe state before restarting an operation. Of course having such certainty is not always the case.

In large work areas where an operator has walk-in access to a potentially hazardous condition, special measures must be taken to prevent an unsafe restart. In such cases an operator may not have full view of the work area and cannot as confidently declare a safe state from standing outside the walk-in area. To complement safety controllers monitoring the devices guarding such areas, a double reset module can be used as the SRB-100DR. The double reset feature is utilized by having an operator begin the resetting procedure by first actuating a trailing edge reset button located inside the walk-in area.  After leaving this area and having the safety devices reengage, actuating the second trailing edge reset button outside the walk-in area within a predetermined time is required to restart an operation.

This sequential and time based procedure helps prevents the starting of a machine based on visual inspection alone near a reset button located away from the view of potential hazards.

»VIEW PRODUCT

New Book: Best of MRL News

For many years Schmersal has provided ongoing and up-to-date information about the safety of machinery and machine control systems in our biannual MRL News magazine and other publications. This new book contains updated articles from MRL News and other Schmersal publications that have been written by knowledgeable Schmersal employees and well known external experts.

This book is designed to provide background knowledge and additional information on the subject of machine safety, as well as practical tips and helpful suggestions that can be applied to individual applications.

Available in print only: Hardcover. 200 Pages.

If you would like to receive a complimentary copy of this book, please fill in the order form and return it by fax or e-mail.

Ask The Expert…

Mike DeRosier, TÜV Functional Safety Engineer
ID-No. 2872/10

Q: Is the new EN ISO 13849-1 standard mandatory for US companies?

A: For companies that export into the European Union, it is a requirement as of January 1st, 2012. This standard replaces EN954 as a part of CE conformity.

EN ISO 13849-1 is a globally accepted standard, it is considered a voluntary industry consensus standard in the US. Like NFPA79 and ANSI-B11.19, this standard is not adopted by OSHA as incorporated into reference by law. OSHA strongly recommends that companies follow such industry consensus standards as they offer the best principles and practices and are up to date with modern day technologies. However, no industry consensus standard will override an existing OSHA standard, if applicable.