Modular Safety System for Safety Related Applications Expanded

The Siemens Industry Automation Division (Germany) has expanded its Sirius 3RK3 modular safety system by a new central module with AS-i (AS-Interface). Sirius 3RK3 Advanced can be used as an AS-i safety monitor, and thus expands standard AS-i networks for safety-related applications. Typical applications include the collection of sensor signals in widely spaced plants, slave-to-slave communication in modular machine concepts, safety-related communication with plant components, or distributed switching-off of drives via the AS-Interface.

The new module is suitable for standard and safety-related signals on the AS-i bus, and has 12 independent AS-i enabling circuits. The quantity structure and functionality of the Sirius 3RK3 Advanced have been greatly increased compared to the Basic version. For example, nine expansion modules can now be connected instead of seven, and expanded cyclic data exchange is possible over Profibus. The functionality of the MSS ES engineering software has also been expanded. It is now possible to download the parameter settings and carry out online diagnostics of the unit over Profibus. The macro function is also new with which function units can be combined in a library. The macros can be exported and imported, and thus reused in other projects.