SchmersalSLC440-ER-0250-30-01Type 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, not a general-purpose photoelectric sensor: its self-checking architecture is what lets it be used 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. This is the field the mechanical guard opening has to match.
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 numbers that decide whether this curtain is legal on your machine. A 30 mm resolution is a hand-detection device: it will reliably detect an object 30 mm across, which covers a hand or wrist but not a finger. Finger protection needs 14 mm resolution — the SLC440-ER-0250-14-01 — so do not substitute a 30 mm curtain where the risk assessment called for 14 mm. Resolution also feeds the minimum safety distance calculation to ISO 13855: coarser resolution means a larger intrusion allowance, so the curtain has to sit further back from the hazard. With 250 mm of protected height this is a small-aperture guard — a feed slot, a loading window, a press or robot cell access opening — rather than a full perimeter fence.

The 3–10 m range means alignment is forgiving over short spans but matters over long ones, and the Bluetooth set-up tool in the 01 build exists precisely so you can align and diagnose from a phone instead of reading 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 plan on the cordsets your cabinet run requires.

Installation and setup notes

Mount emitter and receiver on the same axis with the connector ends the same way up, and square to one another — a twisted pair will pass a rough alignment and then trip intermittently under vibration. Keep the curtain far enough from the hazard to satisfy the ISO 13855 safety distance for a 30 mm resolution device, and make sure the guarding prevents reaching over, under or around the field, because a correctly wired curtain in the wrong position protects nothing. Watch for reflective surfaces within the beam path: a polished guard or coolant shroud can bounce light past an intrusion. Where two curtains face each other, use the family’s beam-coding or offset the sticks to avoid mutual interference. Function-test with a 30 mm test rod through the whole field, top to bottom, before releasing the machine.

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 worth knowing: SLC440-ER-0250-14-01 is the identical 250 mm stick at 14 mm finger-detection resolution — dimensionally interchangeable but a different protective capability, so it 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.