Who Benefits from CIP Safety?
Before the development of safety networks such as CIP Safety, a safety application’s scope was limited because of the difficulties in linking multiple safety functions into a comprehensive and cohesive system. Safety application engineers often had to reduce the size of their systems or minimize their performance requirements since it was difficult to hardwire interlocks and relay-based safety logic into a complete automation system. Now, engineers can integrate their devices on common physical network segments and allow safety and standard information to flow as needed between devices and controllers. Case in point: International Automation, a retrofitter of stamping machines based in Canada, was able to reduce installation time by 65% and increase production efficiency by 50% by implementing CIP Safety into their tandem lines. Implementing the Allen-Bradley® GuardLogix™ controller from Rockwell Automation in its machines, International Automation combined the flexibility and high per
