Bernstein Ltd

BERNSTEIN presents a NEW compact SRO safety rope pull switch

Bernstein Ltd — 08/10/2019

When it comes to maximum safety on the assembly line, in the production line, or directly at the machine, the Safety Rope Pull Switches from BERNSTEIN AG are a reliable and proven solution. The company from Porta Westfalica has now added a particularly small and compact version to the product family of safety rope pull switches, which will be presented at the SPS in Nuremberg in November. Thanks to its modular design, the new SRO (Safety Rope Pull) is extremely space-saving as well as being highly versatile.

According to the Machinery Directive, machines have to be equipped with at least one emergency stop which can stop a dangerous process at any time in order to prevent damage to people, but also to machines or materials. With the help of a safety rope pull switch, this is possible both simply and cost-efficient. Only one switch and one rope are required whilst, at the same time, still being able to protect a large area. BERNSTEIN AG has now extended its existing portfolio of safety rope pull switches with a version that ensures that the required safety can be achieved even in the smallest of spaces thanks to a particularly compact design. "With the SRO, we are completing the product family and can now offer the right rope pull or emergency stop switch to our customers for almost all their applications," says Philip Aumann, responsible product manager.

Before the users actually install their SRO, they can choose from metal or thermoplastic housings and actuators. Additionally, they can select either a 2- or a 4-contact version. "This modular principle has the advantage of always being able to offer exactly the right product for a specific customer application," explains Philip Aumann.

On request, BERNSTEIN can also equip the switch directly with an emergency stop button, in addition to the rope, in order to offer customers the maximum range of safety options. The SRO enables areas of up to 30m in length to be safeguarded. The entire product family of rope pull switches will be presented by the company at SPS 2019 in Nuremberg.

WHICHEVER WAY YOU TURN IT.....

Bernstein Ltd — 02/01/2024

New SEL54 door contact switch offers splash water protection in all installation positions

BERNSTEIN is launching a door contact switch that is unique of its kind. This is due to the new SEL54 protection if its internal components from splashing water from all directions in accordance with IP54, regardless of the installation position.

"The SEL54 can be turned and rotated as our customers like. Splash water still has no chance of getting through the seal," confirms Manuel Pollock, Technical Director at BERNSTEIN AG. With the new door contact switch with protection class IP54, BERNSTEIN has further expanded its successful SEL product series. Incidentally, thanks to the design of the contacts, every activation has a cleaning effect. Dirt, dust or oxide layers are rubbed off and the electrical contact is thus reliably established.

"Our SEL product family door contacts have a mechanical life of 10,000,000 activations," says Manuel Pollock. "So if a lift door were to open 1,000 times a day, the corresponding door contact can be used for over 27 years before it would have reached its mechanical end of life."

Lift technology has always been an important part of BERNSTEIN AG and has shaped the company's history like hardly any other industry. Quality made in Germany" has made a name for itself all over the world over the past decades and the characteristic red BERNSTEIN switches and door contacts characterise many lifts and escalators.

NEW SLC - Soleniod Locking Switch - Safe handling of motion and dynamics

Bernstein Ltd — 01/07/2019

Machine areas that continue running after switching off are often part of automated production processes. If one thinks, for example, of a large flywheel mass or slowly running down saw blades, it is absolutely essential that the machine operator is prevented from accessing them with the help of a safety guard until the dangerous movement has come to a complete standstill. Safety interlocking devices with guard locking such as the new SLC (Safety Lock), ensure, that protective guards, safety doors and other covers stay closed as long as a dangerous condition exists.

Thought through and cost-effective
The SLC (Safety Lock) has been re-thought and is in many respects a functionally optimised development of the classic guard locking switch SLK from BERNSTEIN. This is a safe mechanical interlock with guard locking. During development, it was above all important to reduce the functions to the essentials, to focus on the customers primary requirements and in particular to keep an eye on economic efficiency.

Economical and user-friendly
Mechanically stressed components, such as the rotating head, are made of metal. This makes it extremely robust and durable. The plastic housing, on the other hand, is light and functional. "The integrated M12 connector makes it particularly easy for the customer to connect to his machine. The possibility of flexible contact assembly is also user-friendly: We can discuss and consider the specific requirements of our customers individually," confirms Marcus Scholz, product manager at BERNSTEIN.

For fast action
If the guard locking has to be opened when the machine is switched off for installation or maintenance, the SLC is equipped with a sealed manual release on its front side, which can be released once with an allen key or cross screwdriver. In addition to the manual unlocking function, the SLC offers further functions that enable quick intervention if required. Emergency exit or release are available as accessories:

In case of an emergency the emergency exit allows an immediate opening of the safety guard from within the dangerous area. To do so the emergency exit is located at the back of the SLC. The emergency release is – like the manual release – located on the front of the SLC to enable an immediate opening of the safety guard from outside the hazardous area.
The new SLC from BERNSTEIN AG is particularly suitable wherever safety switches are used for machine safety - for example in packaging, woodworking, milling, food processing machines or injection moulding machines, to name just a few examples

SPS 2019: Metal and plastic professionals for low currents

Bernstein Ltd — 11/11/2019

BERNSTEIN presents position switches IN73 and MN78 at the SPS in Nuremberg

Porta Westfalica/Nuremberg, 30.10.2019 - The IN73 and MN78, the latest developments from BERNSTEIN AG in the field of position switches, are the successful answer to an increased market demand. The contacts of the new developments are specially designed for switching low currents. A special contact surface and certain alloy constituents are just as important as the ability to self-clean at each operation.

The role of position switches has changed completely in recent decades: While in the middle of the 20th century the switches had to be able to operate with currents of up to 16A, today they are only a few mA. The IN73 and MN78 were developed especially for this requirement.

The IN73 is a hybrid because of the sophisticated fusion of metal and plastic components. Thus, all mechanically stressed components and also the mounting level of the switch are almost completely made of metal. A mechanical service life of up to 30 million switching cycles can be effortlessly assured. The lower housing area, on the other hand, is made of fibreglass-reinforced plastic, which also makes the IN73 economically attractive.

The MN78, on the other hand, is a completely metal version of the position switch that scores points for reliably fulfilling its task even in harsh environments, outdoors or under high mechanical stress.

Thanks to the IP66 and IP67 protection classes, the two switches are protected both against strong jets of water and against submersion.
All position switches of the new IN73 and MN78 series have positive break NC contacts according to IEC 60947-5-1. They can therefore be used as Type 1 switches according to ISO 14119 in safety applications according to the Machinery Directive. The switch can be used up to performance level e with appropriate system design.

Classic areas of application for the position switches are, for example:

•   Monitoring of doors, hoods or flaps
•   Position detection of moving machine parts
•   Object detection in conveyor technology
•   End position control of components
•   Position detection on roller shutters
•   Monitoring of sliding doors
•   Position detection in elevator technology

BERNSTEIN - SMART Safety Sensor SRF for Smart Factories

Bernstein Ltd — 30/01/2018

Non-contact safety sensor SRF

The SRF (Safety RFID) is a non-contact safety sensor, that monitors movable safety guards, such as doors, flaps and hoods.

With its innovative diagnostic system, the SRF makes safety circuits suitable for Industry 4.0.

The system provides a multitude of diagnostic data of each sensor, even in a series connection, to support smart production. Diagnostic data is fed into the machine control system via I/O Link or alternatively displayed on a smartphone by way of NFC technology. In this way, 20 different diagnostic information of each sensor can be retrieved and made available. This diagnostic data delivers cost-effective predictive maintenance in a simple way. Through its advanced fault recognition capability, costly machine shutdowns can be prevented.
This way, your machinery and plant will work even more efficiently!

BERNSTEIN NEW Safety System for safeguarding machines

Bernstein Ltd — 08/10/2019

With the development of the SCR P safety relay, BERNSTEIN has created a further important device to safeguard entire machines through a SMART Safety System. The SCR P, which collects a large amount of data and makes them available via an Ethernet interface, will premiere at SPS 2019 in November. It extends the SMART Safety series which is based around the SRF RFID sensor, the SEU electronic emergency stop device, and the SCR DI safety relay, which the company has introduced over the past few years.

BERNSTEIN will be presenting the latest innovation for expanding the system at this year's SPS in Nuremberg: The SCR P programmable safety controller enables the company to take a further step in safeguarding machines. "We offer a complete solution for our customers and will continue to expand and develop the system to further simplify the use of intelligent electronic safety devices and to better exploit their benefits," explains Uwe Wiemer, Sales Director of the DETECT business unit.

In the past, several safety relays were often required to realise all the safety functions needed to completely protect a machine. With the newly developed SCR P programmable safety controller this is no longer necessary, as it integrates all these functions in one module. Furthermore, the two independent enabling paths allow switching off different zones of larger machines. The SCR P monitors up to 5 safety circuits, each with the maximum safety level of PL e. The advantages for the customer are obvious: "On the one hand, hardware costs can be saved, while on the other hand, the wiring effort required by the customer is considerably lower, which results in considerable time savings. By combining several safety relays into one device, the new programmable safety controller takes up significantly less space in the control cabinet. And thanks to the intuitive software, programming is completely trouble-free," says Philip Aumann, the responsible product manager.

The family-owned company presented its SRF, SEU and SCR DI, the first SMART Safety System, at an early stage. The patented DCD diagnostic system, which supplies extensive data from each connected device, was of particular importance during the development of the system. Providing diagnostic data also plays an important role in the SCR P. Those are available to the user via a selectable Ethernet protocol. "We consider ourselves as a solution provider and supply our customers with scalable electronic safety systems. The SCR DI system is ideal for smaller machines, while we recommend the use of the SCR P for larger ones," explains Uwe Wiemer.