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On 2nd November 2006 the notified body of BG’s technical committee MHHW confirmed the safety principle of SafetyNET p. With SafetyNET p Pilz is developing an Ethernet solution that meets the specific communication requirements of standard, safety and motion control and that will network future system landscapes. This concept approval forms the basis for further implementation steps, reaching a key stage in the process of developing safe device interfaces for SafetyNET p.

From the very outset the process of integrating communication into safe field devices has followed the so-called V-Model, a fixed, comprehensive and continuously monitorable project management structure. The notified body certifies SafetyNET p for use in the safe networking of machine cells and machinery through to the internal machine sensor/actuator bus, to comply with the requirements of SIL 3 in accordance with EN 61508. BG accompanied the development process right from the start. Even the initial safety function designs were made in close agreement with the notified body. "That way it’s possible to avoid surprises during the development process. The quality of information about technical features and mechanisms is also increasing; users are guaranteed that the end result is a high-quality system that’s safe right from the start", says Armin Glaser, Product Manager for Programmable Safety and Control Systems and Bus Systems at Pilz GmbH & Co. KG.

Safety right from the start
One of the key features of SafetyNET p is that safety-related functions have been integrated alongside standard communication right from the start, not added as an afterthought. For this would inevitably lead to compromises. "We decided in favour of Ethernet because on the one hand we had an open approach with a channel into the office world, while on the other we were able to resolve not just performance and real-time requirements but safety requirements too. SafetyNET p was developed as a deterministic real-time Ethernet for the industrial environment, in which we have considered and refined the known technology from the SafetyBUS p safe bus system”, explained Armin Glaser.

Networking including sensor and actuator technology
The market trend towards universally networked Ethernet-based solutions is unmistakable – from the office PC down to sensor/actuator technology on machinery and production plants. "For us that was the deciding factor in developing an open, independent Ethernet protocol, for a communication system must be prepared for these universal requirements from the outset. That includes the ability to network safe, complex sensor technology – the SafetyEYE safe camera system from Pilz for example – with safe, complex drive technology via a medium with real-time capability", says Armin Glaser. Against this background SafetyNET p provides two different speed versions, up to a scan time of 62.5 µsec. That meets the requirements of digital servo technology with regard to current and speed control and therefore defines the basic principle for safe motion control applications.