EUCHNER

EUCHNER makes machine safety technology: safety switches, guard-locking interlocks, transponder-coded systems and operator access control. It is a family-owned German company and its products are specified by name in a great many machine risk assessments.

The distinction that matters is between interlocking and guard locking. An interlock tells the control system whether a guard is closed. Guard locking holds the guard closed until the machine has actually reached a safe state, which is what you need on any machine with stored energy or run-down time, where an interlock alone would let someone open a gate while the hazard is still present.

The MGB2 system is EUCHNER's modular multifunctional gate box and the product we are asked for most. It achieves Category 4 and PL e for all safety functions to EN ISO 13849-1, with a locking force of 2000 N and IP65 protection, and bus modules integrate it directly into PROFINET and PROFIsafe.

The escape release is worth knowing about. It lets someone who has become trapped inside a guarded cell open the door from within, and on the MGB2 it can be retrofitted at any time rather than having to be specified up front.

Transponder-coded switches identify one specific actuator rather than any actuator, which is what gives them a high level of protection against defeat. That distinction is the whole point of a coded safety device, and substituting an uncoded switch quietly removes it.

Safety components are a like-for-like replacement question rather than an equivalence question. The machine's risk assessment was carried out against a specific device with a specific rating, so we quote against the order number and identify the manufacturer's stated successor where a type has been superseded.

We source EUCHNER safety components for machine builders and plants across North America.