SchmersalType 4 Safety Light Curtain, 250 mm Protected Height, 30 mm Hand-Detection Resolution, 3-10 m Range, PL e / Cat 4 / SIL 3, IP67

Product Description

What this part is

This is a Schmersal SLC440 multifunctional safety light curtain — an optoelectronic protective device that projects an infrared light field across a machine opening and switches its safety outputs the instant the field is broken. The ER in the order code designates the emitter-and-receiver pair, so this is a working light curtain rather than a single stick. It is a safety device rather than a general-purpose photoelectric sensor: its self-checking architecture is what allows use in the safety circuit of a guarded machine.

Decoding the order code

SLC440: the multifunctional SLC440 light-curtain family, Type 4 to IEC 61496-1/-2. ER: emitter and receiver, supplied as a matched pair. Schmersal’s related SLG440 designation is a light grid with discrete beams rather than a continuous resolution field. 0250: protected height, 250 mm, which is the field the mechanical guard opening matches. 30: resolution, 30 mm. Resolution is the smallest object the curtain is certified to detect, and it decides what the curtain may be used for. 01: the option build, integrated status indication with Bluetooth diagnostics and the active set-up tool.

What these specs mean in practice

Resolution and safety distance are the two figures that decide whether this curtain is legal on a given machine. A 30 mm resolution is a hand-detection device: it reliably detects an object 30 mm across, which covers a hand or wrist and not a finger. Finger protection takes 14 mm resolution, the SLC440-ER-0250-14-01. Resolution also feeds the minimum safety distance calculation to ISO 13855: coarser resolution means a larger intrusion allowance, so the curtain sits further back from the hazard. With 250 mm of protected height this is a small-aperture guard for a feed slot, a loading window, a press or a robot cell access opening rather than a full perimeter fence.

The 3–10 m range makes alignment forgiving over short spans and more critical over long ones. The Bluetooth set-up tool in the 01 build supports alignment and diagnostics from a phone rather than from LEDs at the back of a machine.

Published specifications

Type 4 in accordance with IEC 61496-1 and IEC 61496-2. Performance Level PL e, Category 4 to ISO 13849-1. SIL 3 to IEC 61508 / IEC 62061. Protected height: 250 mm. Resolution: 30 mm, hand detection. Operating range: 3–10 m. Enclosure rating: IP67. Functions: fixed and floating blanking, double acknowledgement / reset, integrated status indication, Bluetooth status and diagnostics via app, active integrated set-up tool.

Quantity and configuration

Sold as one emitter-and-receiver pair. No mounting brackets or swivel mounts, no connection cables, no safety relay or safety controller, no muting arm, no deflecting mirrors, no test rod and no manual are included. SLC440 sticks use plug connectors and machine-specific cable lengths, so cordsets are specified to the cabinet run.

Mounting data

Emitter and receiver mount on the same axis, square to one another, with the connector ends the same way up. A twisted pair passes a rough alignment and then trips intermittently under vibration. Protected height is 250 mm. The mounting position satisfies the ISO 13855 safety distance for a 30 mm resolution device, with guarding that prevents reaching over, under or around the field. Reflective surfaces within the beam path, such as a polished guard or coolant shroud, can bounce light past an intrusion. Where two curtains face each other, the family’s beam-coding or an offset between the sticks prevents mutual interference. Enclosure rating IP67.

Interchange guidance

Searched as SLC440-ER-0250-30-01, SLC440ER025030 01, SLC440-ER0250-30-01, SLC440 ER 0250 30 01 and Schmersal SLC 440 light curtain 250 mm. Same-family builds: SLC440-ER-0250-14-01 is the identical 250 mm stick at 14 mm finger-detection resolution, dimensionally interchangeable but a different protective capability, and is carried as a cross-reference only. SLC440-ER-0450-30-01, SLC440-ER-1450-30-01 and SLC440-ER-1850-30-01 are the same 30 mm resolution at greater protected heights. The SLC440COM variants add muting and cascade functionality. Schmersal’s earlier SLC420 and SLC425 ranges are predecessor families and are not electrically interchangeable with an SLC440.