SIMATIC Safe Kinematics

Highest safety for human and machine
Digitalization increases the degree of automation of machines and systems with an impact on production processes. Here, more and more handling tasks are being taken over by robots with high demands on velocity, precision and repeatability. Industrial robots often work in a cell surrounded by a protective fence. But is that enough to adequately protect the operator? Only with the corresponding efforts – and this requires valuable space or is expensive. The alternative is SIMATIC Safe Kinematics: The software-based solution can monitor the movement in the multidimensional space of predefined kinematics with up to 12 interpolating axes in a fail-safe manner.
An alternative to protective fences
Industrial robots often work in production cells surrounded by protective fences. This ensures that operators cannot reach the hazardous areas within the cells. Classic protective fences are often deceptive, as these would not withstand collisions with the robot.Usually there are two ways to ensure safety here:
1. Distance
The protective fence must be installed in a way that there is a sufficient distance between the protective fence and the robot so that the robot cannot reach and deform the protective fence, thus endangering the operator. As a result, the space requirement of the robot cell increases and the costs of the longer protective fence have to be accepted.
2. Robust protective fence systems
If the robust protective fence can retain the static and dynamic forces of the robot at maximum operating velocity and load, this protective fence may be installed closer to the robot. These robust protective fence systems result in significantly higher costs compared to a classic protective fence..
With the software-based SIMATIC Safe Kinematics solution, Siemens now offers another flexible alternative.
Fully integrated and certified software-based solution
In order to ensure safety and increase the efficiency of machines, a safe interaction between the machine operator and the machine is necessary.
You can find out how SIMATIC Safe Kinematics supports you and what benefits you have from it in an expert discussion.
Functionality
The safe monitoring of the kinematics is carried out in the program of a fail-safe SIMATIC S7-1500 control by means of SIMATIC Safe Kinematics in combination with the drive system SINAMICS S120. The complete engineering takes place uniformly in the TIA Portal.
User-defined serial kinematics with up to 12 joints
SIMATIC Safe Kinematics supports the monitoring of different kinematics with up to 12 interpolating axes. This supports a wide range of possible applications.
Safety in more ways than one
Whether you want to define and monitor working, signaling and protection zones, or the velocity of individual points in terms of tools or segments, or the orientation of a flange, SIMATIC Safe Kinematics offers the fitting functionality.
3D visualization
3D visualization not only facilitates the configuration of the relevant safety functions, but also saves a lot of time during commissioning, validation and troubleshooting.
Acceptance test
The acceptance test contains predefined test cases for checking and verify the Safe Kinematics functions and thus supports you in meeting the requirements for verification and validation according to EN ISO 13849-2 and EN 62061, as well as EN ISO 10218.
The acceptance test:
- Offers you a selection of predefined test cases for checking and verifying the Safe Kinematics functions
- Logs the test results and automatically generates the acceptance documentation – at the touch of a button
- Allows the creation of screenshots with one click from the 3D visualization to the documentation
- Enables the integration of almost any data formats, e.g. videos of the acceptance test, data sheet
No, but instead of an expensive safe protective fence with corresponding space and investment requirements, a normal protective fence is sufficient.
With SIMATIC Safe Kinematics you can safely prevent the robot from colliding with the protective fence. As soon as the robot arm leaves the "working zone", it is immediately shut down, thus preventing a collision with the protective fence. Classic protective fences can be used and the robot cell can be built more compactly because the protective fences can be mounted closer to the robot.
SIMATIC Safe Kinematics requires safe position information of all axle joints
In order to be able to monitor a kinematics with SIMATIC Safe Kinematics safely, you need safe axis positions of the kinematics. For this purpose, we recommend the drive-based safety function Safe Position (SP) of the SINAMICS S120, which transmits the safe axis positions via PROFIsafe to the F-PLC.
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Security information
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