Future-proof safety, including security for mobile strip welding machines

Against the backdrop of the requirements of the EU Machinery Regulation (MR), which comes into force from January 2027, Leicht Stanzautomation were looking for a solution to provide early, holistic and future-proof protection for its mobile strip welding machines. At the same time, the aim was to find a one-stop shop for the safety technology. It was important to Leicht that customers are able to minimise their downtime and maintain production processes almost without interruption. When selecting a partner, Pilz was convincing not only because of its innovative solutions for Identification and Access Management (I.A.M.), but also due to its global presence and high level of market acceptance: thanks to the Pilz solution, Leicht already meets the requirements of the MR and offers safety technology that is available worldwide.

For Leicht, the focus was on safe user identification and structured rights management for its mobile strap welding machines. In collaboration with Pilz, the result was a holistic concept that included not only machinery safety, but also access control for operators, maintenance staff and supervisors. This was based on a protection requirements analysis and risk analysis. Leicht Stanzautomaten uses I.A.M.’s operating mode selection and access permission system PITmode fusion in the implementation. This ensures standard-compliant user identification, rights management and recipe management, as well as the safe selection of operating modes. Leicht also employs the safety switches PSENcode for position monitoring: if operating personnel open gates or service hatches, the coded safety switch detects this and stops the machine. The result: customers have an integrated, future-proof solution that reliably meets the requirements of the MR.

• The automatic punching presses meet the security requirements of the MR today and are therefore future-proof.
• Safe user identification and structured rights management ensure secure access
• Integrated safety solution minimises downtimes and ensures production processes run almost continuously

Leicht Stanzautomation GmbH, based in Ölbronn-Dürrn, specialises in the development, design and worldwide distribution of peripheral equipment for punching and forming technology, as well as profiling, extrusion, injection moulding and assembly technology. The automatic strip welding machines, along with all the strip winding and unwinding technology, optimise the production process for stamping and press lines at companies in the automotive and electrical engineering sectors, as well as in aerospace, medical technology and the furniture industry. In the process, Leicht works in partnership with its customers to develop forward-looking products.