This Product Selection Guide contains information to help select products in the Machine Safety - Light Curtains category on DigiKey.com
Light curtain beam arrays provide an invisible safety wall around industrial work areas using infrared sensing technology. When an object breaks a beam, the NPN or PNP output is set high or low. A transmitter and receiver pair with functions such as blanking and muting are required to form one light curtain system. Systems are designed by selecting the desired protective height, number of beams, beam pitch, operating range, and detection capability.
SelectionCharacteristics
Protection: Indicates the part of the body that the device is designed to protect.
Detection Capability: Indicates the minimum size of an object the device is designed to detect.
Protective Height: Indicates the height of the area protected by the device.
Number of Beams: Indicates the number of beams used for detection.
Beam Pitch: Indicates the center-to-center spacing between adjacent beams.
Operating Range: Indicates the possible width range of the area protected by the device.
Features: These are different capabilities or properties of the device such as blanking or receiver only.
Ingress Protection: IP (Ingress Protection) ratings such as (IP20, IP65, IP67, etc.) define how likely water and dirt will get into the system. The first number represents dirt and solid contaminants while the second represents water and liquids.
IP Ratings
| Solids | Liquids | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Protected against solids larger than 50mm. | Protected against vertically falling drops of water. Limited Ingress permitted. |
| 2 | Protected against solids larger than 12.5mm. | Protected against vertically falling drops of water with the enclosure tilted up to 15 degrees from vertical. Limited ingress permitted. |
| 3 | Protected against solids larger than 2.5mm. | Protected against spraying water up to 60 degrees from vertical. Limited ingress permitted for 3 minutes. |
| 4 | Protected against solids larger than 1mm. | Protected against water splashed from any direction. Limited ingress permitted. |
| 5 | Protected against dust. Limited ingress of dust permitted. | Will not affect operation of equipment 2-8 hours. Protected against jets of water. Limited ingress permitted. |
| 6 | Dust tight. No ingress of dust 2-8 hours. | Protected against powerful jets of water. Limited ingress permitted. |
| 7 | ______________________ | Protected against the effects of immersion in 15cm-1m for 30 minutes. |
| 8 | ______________________ | Continuous immersion in water up to 3m for long periods of time. |
| 9 | ______________________ | Protected against high pressure jets of hot water. (30 seconds) |
| 9K | ______________________ | Protected against high pressure jets of hot water. (2 minutes) |
Operating Temperature: Recommended operating temperature, typically given in a range or as a maximum. Exceeding these temperatures may affect performance or damage the device and other system components.
Voltage - Supply: Typically represented by a range, this indicates the low and high voltage limits which one can expect standard operation. Voltages outside this range may damage the device and other system components.
ProductExamples
| MFR PART # | C4C-PA03030A10000 |
|---|---|
| DIGI-KEY PART # | 1882-1682-ND |
| MANUFACTURER | SICK, Inc. |
| DESCRIPTION | Light Curtain 30mm Hand/Arm |
| DATASHEET | Click Here |
| MFR PART # | F3SG-4RA0720-14 |
|---|---|
| DIGI-KEY PART # | Z5929-ND |
| MANUFACTURER | Omron Automation and Safety |
| DESCRIPTION | Light Curtain 14mm Finger Blanking, Muting Function |
| DATASHEET | Click Here |
| MFR PART # | SLC4P24-160P44 |
|---|---|
| DIGI-KEY PART # | 2170-SLC4P24-160P44-ND |
| MANUFACTURER | Banner Engineering Corporation |
| DESCRIPTION | Light Curtain 24mm Hand |
| DATASHEET | Click Here |
| MFR PART # | SF2C-H8-N |
|---|---|
| DIGI-KEY PART # | 1110-4225-ND |
| MANUFACTURER | Panasonic Industrial Automation Sales |
| DESCRIPTION | Light Curtain 25mm Hand |
| DATASHEET | Click Here |
| MFR PART # | 1202570024 |
|---|---|
| DIGI-KEY PART # | 900-1202570024-ND |
| MANUFACTURER | Molex |
| DESCRIPTION | Light Curtain 14mm Finger |
| DATASHEET | Click Here |
| MFR PART # | OY116S |
|---|---|
| DIGI-KEY PART # | 2330-OY116S-ND |
| MANUFACTURER | ifm efector, inc. |
| DESCRIPTION | Light Curtain Body |
| DATASHEET | Click Here |
MediaLinks
Videos
Rugged F3SG Light Curtain Impact Test
State-of-the-art safety light curtain deTec4 Core from SICK
Safety Light Curtains – SF4C Series – Safety Input Function
Articles
Specification and Use of Muting Functions on Light Curtains