Food portioning in accordance with PL e

The Belgian machine builder Marelec develops machinery for portioning processes, in which meat or fish is sliced into portions of an exact, specified weight. These machines from the “Portio” series have a minimum of 17 cutting movements per second. To ensure they are not only highly productive but also safe, Pilz developed an appropriate safety concept to Performance Level PL e.

When designing its machines it's important to Marelec to offer maximum safety. The razor-sharp blades on the portion cutters represent the greatest risk; they are barely visible due to the fast cutting movement. That’s why Pilz advised the machine builder to use a protective cover including safety fence monitoring. If the cover is opened, the non-contact, coded safety switch PSENcode ensures that the knife is immediately shut down. The safety sensors have IP69K certification and are resistant to corrosive cleaning agents – ideal for use in the food industry. Integrated short circuit diagnostics offer safety up to PL e. The safe configurable small controller PNOZmulti 2 is used to control the safety functions. If the PLC controller performs a restart, PNOZmulti 2 checks that all the safety conditions have been met. Equipped like this, nothing stands in the way of safe portioning.

• With its ability to withstand vibration, the safety switch PSENcode provides excellent manipulation protection and long-term safeguarding
• The integrated tunnel offers additional protection, providing a mechanical barrier
• Individual safety concept is created at the highest level

The Belgian machine builder Marelec Food Technologies from Nieuwpoort specialises in the manufacture of fish weighing, sorting and portioning systems. The company is also a leader in the production of trawl control systems and other marine electronics, operating worldwide with representatives in 20 countries.