From November 12 through 14, the focus at the SPS (Smart Production Solutions) in Nuremberg, Germany will be on innovations in the automation industry — and the following question: how can automation solutions make industrial manufacturing more digital and more efficient? Balluff has an answer, presenting new network technology and sensors at the leading international trade show. The focus will be on products that reduce the complexity of production systems while increasing their level of performance and ensuring maximum security.
A new take on safety
Trade show visitors can also look forward to a sneak peek at the future of production system safety: as one of the leading providers of IO-Link solutions, Balluff will introduce IO-Link Safety at SPS — a new safety standard for industry. It allows machinery and production systems to be equipped with functional safety components such as safety doors and light curtains. IO-Link Safety ensures safe communication between safety devices and control systems, minimizing the risk to workers and machinery. Integrating IO-Link Safety into existing IO-Link systems is easy to implement thanks to standardized M12 connectors.
Network technology that meets every requirement
The growing data traffic in industrial manufacturing makes high demands on network technology. Balluff combines high-performance networking components with IO-Link to ensure an optimal flow of information. At its SPS booth, the sensor and automation specialist will show its expanded network portfolio. Depending on the required performance and area of application, production system operators can choose between four different product lines: the Black Line forms the core of the new portfolio. It is very cost-effective and available in three performance categories (entry, standard, and advanced). The Silver Line is ideally suited for specialized applications that require a high level of robustness. Product lines for washdown environments and safety applications respectively complement the range.
Upgrading condition monitoring
Trade show visitors will also be able to take a look at the condition monitoring portfolio which offers particularly great potential for the automation of manufacturing processes. This is because condition monitoring sensors provide real-time data, for example from critical assemblies, making costly manual inspections unnecessary. One of the new products featured at the trade show booth: the condition monitoring sensor BCM Generation 2 which combines several monitoring functionalities and enables frequency-selective analysis. Compared to its predecessor, it features a significantly improved measurement performance in the detection of high-frequency phenomena. Thanks to the integrated intelligent data pre-processing capabilities, production system operators do not need any additional high-end evaluation units, reducing unnecessary data traffic. Another new BCM Gen 2 feature: a new mounting concept with just one screw. The small, round mounting surface makes it easy to retrofit the sensor, taking up only little space.
Beyond visible light
In the area of machine vision, Balluff is set to present new models in the industrial camera BVS CA product family. They feature SWIR sensors (short-wave infrared) which use the short-wave infrared range of the light spectrum up to 1,700 nm, reliably detecting things that are not visible or hard to detect for traditional cameras and the human eye. This makes them particularly suited for monitoring tasks in the semiconductor as well as the packaging and food industries. Another advantage: the cameras feature their own image memory and can pre-process and correct images using FPGA circuitry. The new SWIR models can be easily integrated into existing systems thanks to their compatibility with GigE Vision, USB3 Vision and GenICam.
Balluff is in hall 7A at booth 303 at SPS fair in Nurnberg.
