Drive-Based Platforms Provide Flexible Concepts for Machine Safety M anufacturing automation is now well into the Industry 4.0 era. New machine control and drive technologies are rapidly being introduced to provide more flexibility and productivity as well as smarter, more sophisticated use of real-time, actionable data on machine performance. The same advances in digital electronics and automation software are powering flexible and effective new concepts in safety technology for automation. Complete machine safety platforms are now being offered that provide easier programming and greater versatility in the safety functions they support. These new platforms are more compact to save valuable space in control cabinets yet provide significantly faster response times to enable safety systems to deliver the necessary protection with the pace of today's automation systems. 2 Cov ToC - one that is tailored to a manufacturer's individual requirements with maximum flexibility and protection. Safety Technology Follows Automation Trends Advances in the speed and complexity of today's high-speed automation systems call for a new generation of safety drives and controls that are more flexible, easier to program and commission, and provide scalable solutions that range from drive-integrated solutions to complete safety controls platforms. One key advantage these new safety platforms offer is scalability. They can be deployed as drive-based systems or can easily be scaled up via software to be - come a complete safety control solution Automatic safety features - such as emergency stops, safety curtains, or door interlocks - are designed to protect people and machines when problems occur or when operators need to enter machine spaces where they could be at risk. Safety drives and PLCs dedicated to responding to these devices have im - proved to address the rising sophistication of automation platforms. A key trend in recent years has been the growth of high-speed safety buses, following similar growth of high-speed Ethernet-based automation buses. There are multiple safety bus architectures available that are supported by most Motion Design, October 2021http://info.hotims.com/79418-936