SICK’s safety laser scanners increases availability for BMW1 series

World-leading carmaker BMW has standardized the use of SICK’s (www.sick.com) S3000 safety laser scanners at all locations worldwide.

The S3000 safety laser scanners from SICK that integrates PROFINET IO interface is the preferred choice for protecting risky areas of robot work cells as well as assembly lines in constructing car body.

All of BMW’s robot and drive systems facilities in Munich and Regensburg are equipped with about 9,000 PROFINET devices integrated into each plant’s network.

BMW has significantly benefited from the integration of SICK’s S3000 safety laser scanners with PROFINET IO to its production network. Many laser scanners are used at the Regensburg facility for body construction as point-of-operation and guards-in welding robot cells.

The S3000 PROFINET IO safety laser scanners allow continuous and complete integration of the field devices. There is also no need for switching modules and sub-distributors having two integrated RJ45 ports with switching functionality.

Cabling effort is significantly reduced, as the entire data transmission is done via one medium within the same physical network.

Supporting the operation concept at BMW’s central plant, the S3000 enables configuration from a central operating computer to speed up commissioning. It also facilitates remote diagnosis and maintenance, allowing direct communication with the field sensor.

With remote diagnosis, the plants can maximise its productivity and availability. For preventive maintenance, it allows sensor to integrate into arrangements. Field sensors are protected from unauthorised modifications using an efficient tracing feature. Compared to classic safety laser scanner installations, the S3000 also reduces cost significantly.