Trends

Safe automa­tion is changing. Issues such as digi­ti­sa­tion, Indus­trial Secu­rity or open com­mu­ni­ca­tion stan­dards deter­mine the future. We’ll keep you up to date on the key trends in safe automa­tion.

Why Zones and Conduits Make Machinery More Resilient

The Machinery Reg­u­la­tion has made Indus­trial Secu­rity a pre­req­ui­site for func­tioning Safety. Stan­dards such as IEC 62443 and the forth­coming EN 50742 rec­om­mend a clear approach: seg­ment automa­tion net­works into zones, con­trol com­mu­ni­ca­tions between them and specif­i­cally pro­tect safety-related func­tions. Andreas Willert, Head of Indus­trial Secu­rity at Pilz Aus­tria, explains how this works in prac­tice.

More efficient diagnostics via IO-Link Safety

In auto­mated and increas­ingly indi­vid­u­alised pro­duc­tion envi­ron­ments, com­plex plants must be assem­bled in ever shorter times, while the number of com­po­nents to be installed con­tinues to rise. One aspect is par­tic­u­larly rel­e­vant: end-to-end con­nec­tivity. Plant and machinery must be con­nected in such a way that the entire pro­duc­tion system oper­ates effi­ciently and safely. The com­mu­ni­ca­tion pro­tocol IO-Link Safety ensures a flex­ible, smarter and more cost-effec­tive con­nec­tion.

Safely moved, precisely controlled

Machines also go through a life­cycle. Each phase places spe­cific demands on Safety – and on those who must ensure it. What’s impor­tant here, and what role does Secu­rity now play?

“A sophisticated security concept can become a competitive advantage”

Max­i­m­ilian Moser, Con­sul­tant Indus­trial & Product Secu­rity, VDMA e.V. Soft­ware and Dig­i­ti­za­tion, on the role of mechan­ical and plant engi­neering and the cyber resilience of supply chains and prod­ucts.

Focus on human and machine

Ensuring that machinery runs smoothly is a respon­sible task: pro­duc­tive processes must go hand in hand with the pro­tec­tion of human, machine and data. For mat­ters of Safety, Secu­rity and Com­pli­ance, Pilz has a dig­ital plat­form to pro­vide sup­port throughout the machine life­cycle.

Radar technology for automation

One focus area for Pilz is to expand con­ven­tional safety tech­nology using inno­v­a­tive sensor tech­nolo­gies, to make the safe automa­tion of the future more effi­cient. An example is radar tech­nology: radar sen­sors from Pilz can already be used to mon­itor zones safely.

IT vs. OT: two worlds, one goal

Secu­rity becomes manda­tory: New EU reg­u­la­tions such as the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), NIS 2 and the Machinery Reg­u­la­tion man­date greater Secu­rity in pro­duc­tion. Matthias Kuczera and Simon Nutz explain what machine man­u­fac­turers and oper­a­tors need to know now – and how they can pro­vide effec­tive pro­tec­tion for their plant.

Safety and sustainability go hand in hand

What’s safe is also sus­tain­able! It’s always about pre­serving or pro­tecting some­thing – whether it’s human, machine or envi­ron­ment. Pilz has set itself the goal of making the world safer every day and thus pro­tecting it – both with automa­tion solu­tions that are Safe, Secure and energy effi­cient, and with ser­vices that help con­serve resources.

Seamless production of the future

Modern pro­duc­tion is cur­rently under­going a par­a­digm shift. Com­pa­nies are faced with the chal­lenge of opti­mising the gen­er­a­tion and use of data in order to remain com­pet­i­tive and meet legal require­ments. A new model, that of data rooms, offers a solu­tion by enabling net­worked, trans­parent and effi­cient com­mu­ni­ca­tion between many par­tic­i­pants.

Worldwide sustainable production

Pilz man­u­fac­tures in Europe and Asia, with sus­tain­ability par­tic­u­larly in mind. The new water treat­ment plant in Jintan shows that you can save resources and save money at the same time.

Transformation with Safety, Security and Automation

Today, indus­trial trans­for­ma­tion also focuses on appli­ca­tion sce­narios that bring together automa­tion and safety solu­tions in an “all-in-one” package. This way it is pos­sible to achieve greater con­sis­tency between automa­tion and safety – ulti­mately for a “safer” trans­for­ma­tion.

The Netherlands: Act sustainably, think of the future

With a view to future gen­er­a­tions, sus­tain­able busi­ness prac­tices are a must. With safe automa­tion solu­tions, Pilz Nether­lands is making a valu­able con­tri­bu­tion.

Safe Automation supports “Zero Emission Mobility”

The trend towards mobility – Zero Emis­sion Mobility – is gaining momentum. But, to be suc­cessful, it also requires safe engi­neering and tech­nolo­gies. DC charging tech­nology for elec­tric vehi­cles will play a part. Automa­tion spe­cial­ists like Pilz are “securing” the way with appro­priate tech­nical solu­tions.

Hydrogen – Safe and Secure

An inter­view with Thomas Braasch, Key Account Man­ager at Pilz.

Hydrogen: Clean, Safe and Secure

If we are to exploit the poten­tial of hydrogen as the energy car­rier of the future, it must be com­pletely safe to handle. Proven safety prin­ci­ples from the automa­tion industry can achieve this.

Out of the control cabinet!

It’s not just time that’s money – space is too. That’s what makes decen­tralised automa­tion solu­tions so attrac­tive. With the right remote I/O solu­tion, users can not only save space, but also reduce their wiring work. Plus they enjoy greater flex­i­bility when imple­menting decen­tralised con­trol archi­tec­tures – even in rugged indus­trial envi­ron­ments.

Transformation of industry

Everyone is talking about sus­tain­ability. Together with digi­ti­sa­tion, the two are cur­rently leading to an exten­sive trans­for­ma­tion of industry. Safe automa­tion plays a key role in ensuring that this is suc­cessful.

Why safe connectivity scores points at field level

Indus­trial com­mu­ni­ca­tion – par­tic­u­larly at field level – must be able to pro­vide safe data transfer up to the “last” sensor, and “can” addi­tion­ally offer more avail­ability and more flex­ible automa­tion. Then pro­duc­tion processes can be opti­mised.

Security: The more aware you are, the more questions arise

Ever since the pub­li­ca­tion of the new EU Machinery Reg­u­la­tion, it is clear: Secu­rity is now a legal require­ment! But how are com­pa­nies around the world dealing with this? Our secu­rity experts from Ger­many, Italy and Aus­tria explain.

A second life for Pilz products

(Elec­tronic) com­po­nents are a valu­able asset. This hasn’t only been the case at Pilz since the pro­cure­ment crisis in recent years. Pilz estab­lished its Repair Centre as early as 2002, at which defec­tive Pilz devices can be prop­erly repaired and then reused at the same quality. A sus­tain­ability ware­house now gives many prod­ucts a second life.

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