Functional safety has become a requirement in many applications with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) defining safety integrity levels (SILs) from 1 up to 4 based on the IEC 61508, with SIL 1 being the least dependable and SIL 4 being the most dependable. With safety in mind, HEIDENHAIN Corporation RCN Series of absolute angle encoders now have a “Functional Safety” version with built-in components that are part of an immediate machine shut-off process in case of machine or component malfunction.
The encoders deliver functional safety up to SIL 2 according to EN 61508 with further basis for testing from EN 61 800-5-2.) They are rated Category 3, PL “d” according to EN ISO 13849-1:2008. The safe position for the Encoder is ± 0.77° (with the safety-related measuring step approximately 0.088°) in one mounting position and ± 0.29° (with the safety-related measuring step approximately 0.088°) for an alternate mounting option.
For more information about HEIDENHAIN RCN Series of absolute angle encoders with Functional Safety, click here.