What does SICK safety scanner work with?

It works with Safety PLC integration, Pilz safety controller, E stop relays, FANUC R 30iB, Allen Bradley ControlLogix, Siemens S7 1500, CIP Safety fieldbus, Banner light curtain.

What should I watch for with SICK safety scanner?

Zone sizes must account for actual robot stopping distance at each motion state. Mounting height and angle determine detection reliability and where dead zones fall. Periodic function testing is required per the site safety plan and applicable standards. Reflective floors, racking, or safety glass can create phantom detections. Safety output must wire through a safety controller, not directly into standard robot inputs. Zone switching timing must match robot state changes to prevent nuisance stops. Firmware updates on the scanner require re-verification of the safety function.

Safety devices

SICK safety scanner

Laser-based area scanner from SICK, such as the microScan3, used to create configurable safety zones around a robot cell without fixed fencing.

SICK's safety laser scanners (the microScan3 and nanoScan3 families) project a 2D laser field around the sensor and continuously monitor for intrusions into configured warning and protective zones. When someone crosses into a protective zone, the scanner drives a safety output that a downstream safety controller uses to slow or stop the robot.

In a cell they replace or supplement a physical fence. A scanner mounted low can define a protective zone around a robot workspace and a warning zone outside it, so the cell slows on early detection and stops on close approach, letting operators reach a load station without a hard interlock every cycle.

Multiple zone sets are the enabling feature. The scanner can hold several zone shapes and switch between them based on the robot's current state (arm at load, arm at process, arm at unload), each with its own protective and warning boundaries sized to the actual stopping distance for that motion.

The scanner's safety output usually wires into a safety PLC or a Pilz safety controller, which then interlocks with the robot's safe I/O to command a rated stop. Wiring it directly into standard robot inputs skips the layered safety architecture that most sites need for compliance.

Reach for a scanner when the cell needs frequent operator access, when a physical fence would eat floor space you can't spare, or when the design is going toward a fenceless system with speed and separation monitoring. For a fixed opening that only needs entry detection, a light curtain like a Banner unit is cheaper and simpler.

Commissioning trouble usually comes from zone sizing that ignores robot deceleration (a zone shaped for the arm at rest won't stop it in time at full speed), reflective floor surfaces or racking that create phantom detections, and mounting angles that leave dead zones behind fixtures. Periodic function testing per the site's safety plan is required whether or not the scanner throws a fault.

Common pairings in the same cell: Banner light curtains at fixed openings, muting sensors for pallet passthroughs, and E-stop relays for the hardwired master-stop layer that sits underneath the scanner-based zone logic.

Common questions

What does SICK safety scanner do?: Laser-based area scanner from SICK, such as the microScan3, used to create configurable safety zones around a robot cell without fixed fencing.
What does SICK safety scanner work with?: It works with Safety PLC integration, Pilz safety controller, E stop relays, FANUC R 30iB, Allen Bradley ControlLogix, Siemens S7 1500, CIP Safety fieldbus, Banner light curtain.
What should I watch for with SICK safety scanner?: Zone sizes must account for actual robot stopping distance at each motion state. Mounting height and angle determine detection reliability and where dead zones fall. Periodic function testing is required per the site safety plan and applicable standards. Reflective floors, racking, or safety glass can create phantom detections. Safety output must wire through a safety controller, not directly into standard robot inputs. Zone switching timing must match robot state changes to prevent nuisance stops. Firmware updates on the scanner require re-verification of the safety function.