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Suwanee, Georgia, July 22, 2019 – Highest Protection for Man and Machine
Murrelektronik's MVK Metal Safety enables fieldbus solutions for active
safety technology

Safety is a major topic in the automation industry. With Murrelektronik's

fieldbus module MVK Metal Safety, you get perfect solutions for active
safety technology. Now you can achieve the highest standards for your
installation: Safety Integrated Level 3 (acc. to IEC 61508 and IEC 62061) and
Performance Level e (acc. to EN ISO 13849-1). MVK Metal Safety is
available in 2 convenient versions: as an input module and also as a mixed
module with inputs and outputs - which is a great feature.

Safety technology is important. Therefore, the automation industry is

constantly looking for solutions to improve the production processes while
focusing on efficiency and cost-effectiveness. However, the responsible
engineers have to ensure that all people involved in the production process
are always protected from injury or even life-threatening situations, as well
as protecting the machines from damage. Legislation requires intensive
efforts to comply with all aspects of safety technology.
We have to distinguish between passive and active safety technology. In
passive safety technology, safe installations are created by combining passive
safe fieldbus modules with safety relays. If a guard door is opened or
someone reaches through a light curtain, the module's outputs are switched
off by the relays and the machine's components are safely, and quickly, shut
down.
Passive safe fieldbus modules keep air and creepage distances. The circuit
boards have spaces wide enough to exclude cross circuits. This ensures that
no external power can interfere with the system after it has been switched
off and after the safety function has been released.
Murrelektronik offers passive safe fieldbus modules (MVK Metal, Cube67
and MASI) and MIRO Safety relays. In passive safety technology, the existing
safety technology (MIRO Safe) is combined with standard passive safe
fieldbus modules. This facilitates machine installations so you can maintain
quality concepts and principles in your system. Take advantage of our
experience so no time-consuming rethinking is required. This makes setting
up safe technology easier for installations that only require safe outputs in
the field.
Active safety technology, on the other hand, is different. Here, the basic
principle is that the complete fieldbus solution has to comply with safety
technology requirements. Affected outputs are not only passively shut down
by disconnecting voltage, but they are deactivated by the control. These
systems require individual components to meet the requirements of safety
technology, a safe control (F-PLC) to transfer safe signals reliably.
Murrelektronik offers the MVK Metal Safety fieldbus module that is available
as a pure input module and as mixed module with safe inputs and outputs.
MVK Metal Safety is the component necessary to create fieldbus solutions
that meet the requirements for active safety technology. Safety sensors,
guard door applications, emergency stop buttons, light curtains and more
are connected to the inputs and integrated into the safety system. On the
safe outputs, actuators (up to 2A), like valves or low power motors, are
connected that have to be safely deactivated, if necessary.
To ensure safe data transfer, MVK Metal Safety uses the transfer protocols
PROFINET/PROFIsafe or PROFIBUS/PROFIsafe. These are safety-related
extensions of the proven PROFINET and PROFIBUS protocols that are
standard in industrial applications. The PROFIsafe extension was developed
by the companies that are involved in the PROFIBUS user organization PNO,
it is vendor independent and open. It is listed in the international standard
IEC 61784-3-3. By linking these protocols with the existing ones, the current
communication technologies can be used. With PROFIsafe, fail safe data and
standard data are transferred with the same bus cable. This avoids
incalculable, additional efforts for engineering and installation. Furthermore,
it is possible to integrate standard modules into the individual lines of safe
fieldbus solutions which saves wiring costs. And it is also possible to upgrade
the fieldbus solution to a safe system without making any substantial
changes.
MVK Metal Safety consists of a solid metal housing with surface finishing.
This makes it suitable for soldering applications. Because of its excellent
vibration resistance (vibration 15 g and shock 60 g), MVK Metal Safety is
perfectly suitable for applications in rugged and extreme environments, for
example in forming and sheet metal working. The modules are fully potted,
therefore they are resistant to cooling lubricants that are often used in
cutting production - metal lathing, milling and drilling. MVK Metal Safety
meets IP67 protection requirements.
The modules are very compact and feature an integrated fieldbus
connection. Therefore, no additional bus node has to be installed. Another
benefit is that both fieldbus cable and supply voltage can be daisy chained
from one module to the next. Each M12 input port features two inputs. They
can also be used for two single channels or one two-channel safety circuit. In
two-channel applications, the channels can be configured as equivalent or
antivalent. It is also possible to adjust the discrepancy time. This is
important, if two sensors with different reaction times have to be precisely
synchronized.
The easy-to-read labels on the module and ports are yellow so that the user
can see at a glance that this is a safety product. Yellow is also used for the
light rings and the contact carriers at the ports.
Cross circuit monitoring is another important feature of the modules. Each
input of MVK Metal Safety has a separate, parametrical clock signal. Cross
circuits caused by pinched cables or ground faults are immediately detected
and reported. However, you can also deactivate this pulsing, for example in
applications with light curtains that are checked for cross circuits by their
own internal logic.
The parameters of the individual modules are stored in the control.
Therefore, you don't have to set the parameters with additional
programming devices and you don't need software tools when exchanging a
module. The advantage is that the modules can be easily exchanged during
service and the relevant data can still reach the module through the control
without any problems.
The key to cost-effectiveness in machine and system installation is reducing
unplanned down time. Which is why MVK Metal Safety's thorough
diagnostic functions are an excellent feature. Failures such as overloads,
sensor short circuits and cable breaks are separately monitored on each
channel; an LED indicates which port is affected and the failure is reported to
the control. This ensures that adjacent channels are not influenced.

Pictures:
MurrAppl_MVK_Safety:
MVK Metal Safety: Safe inputs and outputs, packed in a robust housing

MurrMVK_rugged_environment:
Due to its high vibration resistance, MVK Metal Safety is perfectly suitable for
applications and rugged and extreme environments
About Murrelektronik, Inc.
Murrelektronik, Inc. is the North American arm of Murrelektronik GmbH, a worldwide leader in
the manufacture of state-of-the-art technology and made-to-measure solutions for complex
automated industrial systems, network protocols and machine connectivity. For more
information on the company's products and services, contact Murrelektronik, Inc., 1400
Northbrook Parkway, Suite 300, Suwanee, GA 30024; call 770.497.9292 or visit
www.murrinc.com.