Waldkirch, November 2017 - In the future, SICK will be equipping the safety light curtains of the deTec4 product family with NFC technology (NFC tags) so that device data can be read out via an app. All functions can still be configured without software. In order to illustrate the functional scope and performance of the light curtains, the SICK app offers quick on-site diagnostics via NFC connection. The customer holds their smartphone with the app up to the light curtain and obtains the device information.
The light curtains are the passive part of the NFC connection. In order to send the saved information, they use the energy transmitted from the smartphone. Enough energy is transferred via the active transmitter to send the information from the light curtain over a short distance.
Transmission is done without the light curtains needing their own supply voltage. This makes it possible to check deTec4 configurations quickly even if the light curtains in question are in storage. Thanks to an intelligent device concept with function packages that are configured via system plugs, plant manufacturers or operators can keep the basic device length and resolution variants that are relevant to their plant concepts in stock, and they have a flexible way of adding extra functions (function packages) using different system plugs as and when required. Thanks to the integrated NFC tag in the deTec4 receiver, the app displays the setting options for the DIP switches in the system plug in the configuration wizard and provides the resulting image for the desired configuration.
IO-Link for diagnostics and automation
When it comes to diagnostics, SICK is going one step further: deTec4 receivers are getting a standard IO-Link interface. While the NFC technology provides on-site diagnostics in the form of a snapshot, IO-Link makes it possible to read out diagnostic data continuously regardless of location. The data can be visualized via the SICK software platform SOPAS. In addition, beam data can be used in muting applications for tasks such as height measurement and further automation.
SICK is one of the world’s leading producers of sensors and sensor solutions for industrial applications. The company, which was founded in 1946 by Dr Erwin Sick and has its headquarters in Waldkirch im Breisgau near Freiburg in Germany, is among the technology market leaders. With more than 50 subsidiaries and equity investments as well as many agencies, SICK has a presence all over the world. In the 2016 fiscal year, SICK had more than 8,000 employees worldwide and a group revenue of just under EUR 1.4 billion.
Additional information about SICK is available on the Internet at http://www.sick.com or by phone on +49 (0) 7681 202 4183.