September
2007

Landquart; The German automobile manufacturer Volkswagen is im-proving safety on its existing paternoster storage systems with the compact safety components from CEDES.


The socalled paternoster systems are used for the storage of small parts. These storage systems function according to a recirculation principle whereby many parts can be stored optimally in areas with limited floor space. The goods are brought to the operator automatically, reducing setup times substantially.

 
VW entrusted CEDES GmbH in Rheinhausen (Germany) with the job of achieving the health and safety standard BGR 234 for storage systems. CEDES provided the ideal safety light curtains which safeguard the extraction area. Furthermore, the CEDES service personnel were trained for the annual safety inspections, as required by BGR 234. 

More than 100 paternoster systems have been retrofitted with Safe400 safety light curtains with finger resolution (14 mm). The light curtain protects the operator from the inward and outward moving goods carrier. For the safety controller, the SafeCIS3 from CEDES is used. This light curtain and controller combination is the world’s most compact and economical safeguarding solution, which fulfills safety category 4 according to EN 954-1 respectively IEC / EN 61496-1. 

Original statement from VW: “Thanks to the very small sizes of the safety components, we were able to safeguard the paternosters’ dangerous areas according to regulations without having to carry out laborious constructive changes to the system.”