Safety interface between machine and manual workstations

They separate manual workstations from robot areas and moving parts in transport lines. And they open from bottom to top. That is why the machine safety doors EFA-SRT® MS USD (Upside-Down) from EFAFLEX offer more safety for employees at manual workstations located directly in front of moving machine parts. A u E Kassel designed and installed this version of the doors for a new manufacturing hall of Hexagon Purus, where Type 4 hydrogen pressure vessels are produced.

"The choice of these doors is not hard to justify," explains Dennis Sommer, Technical Project Manager at A u E. The Kassel-based machine builder is responsible for the entire planning and assembly of the systems in Hexagon Purus's new production hall. "In front of the automation cells, there are manual workstations where employees assemble valves on hydrogen containers or attach or remove adapters for testing. Therefore, we needed a barrier of at least one meter in height so that no one can step into the automation area. This is required by the guidelines for these workstations." The EFA-SRT® MS Upside-Down machine safety doors open from bottom to top. At the workstations at Hexagon Purus, the doors rise to a height of one meter. This prevents employees from accessing the robot line. When containers up to four meters long are inserted into or removed from the robot line, the door temporarily opens the track for this process for only the shortest possible time and then immediately closes again to a height of one meter.

Safe and easy to install everywhere

"The machine safety doors are located at very critical points in production. They represent an important safety interface between robots and manual workstations," describes Dennis Sommer, emphasizing their importance. "This means they must be perfectly synchronized with the machine's cycle."

The EFA-SRT® MS USD is the first EFAFLEX machine safety door that closes from bottom to top. The fail-safe, space-saving, and low-maintenance Upside-Down quick-opening door was specifically designed for intensive industrial use. Inside the door's frames, there is a particularly powerful tension device that pulls the closing panel upward.
Thanks to integrated floor supports in the side frames, the roller door is self-supporting and can be easily bolted into the floor. Safety latches on the outer edge of the door curtain keep it in the guide rails.

The door dimensions are configurable with widths from 600 to 6,000 millimeters and heights from 1,000 to 4,500 millimeters. The flexible door curtain is available in several designs and colors.

The EFA-SRT® MS USD features a lock according to DIN EN ISO 14120 and thus serves as a solely acting, power-operated, movable protective device as well as a personnel backstop device.

In combination with the machine's control system, the door guarantees maximum safety for personnel at plants and machinery in industrial and commercial environments. A secure end-position switch acts as an electrical lock between the door and the system. To ensure protection against unauthorized access, both the winding shaft and the drive are completely enclosed with metal profiles.

Link between supplier and customer

The Kassel-based machine builder A u E supplies technology for modern production systems as well as logistics process solutions. It seamlessly integrates and optimizes mechanics, electrical systems, and control technology of machinery and plant engineering, along with overarching IT and logistics systems. Without time and information loss through external interfaces and always tailored to the customer's production requirements. AuE thinks in processes and implements each system in a process-oriented manner. As a member of the internationally oriented STRAMA GROUP, A u E is firmly rooted in the region and prefers to work regionally with other medium-sized companies located close to production sites. "That is another plus for EFAFLEX," says Dennis Sommer. "Here on site, two in-house installers are stationed, who are also very quick to respond when we need them."

Worldwide and regional: Company information Hexagon Purus

Hexagon Purus enables emission-free mobility for a clean energy future. The company is a global leader in Type 4 hydrogen high-pressure cylinders and systems, battery systems, and vehicle integration solutions for fuel cell and battery-powered electric vehicles. Hexagon Purus products are used in a wide range of applications, including light, medium, and heavy commercial vehicles, buses, ground storage, distribution, refueling, shipping, rail transport, and aerospace.