Active laser enclosures with intelligent detection threshold by thermography that increase productivity and safety in the metalworking sector

The evolution of European companies towards Industry 4.0 is an increasingly present fact in all sectors and laser technology is an essential area of ​​this new industry. More and more companies are adopting this technology to replace traditional manufacturing methods.

This essential part of industry 4.0 still has some health risks for those who may be exposed to the laser beam, for which it is essential to resort to active protection systems already present in the current market with high implementation and maintenance costs. ; even prohibitive for many SMEs. Thus, the objective of the CLAUDIT project is to find an economic solution, beyond the currently available products, to configure active cabins for laser installations that considerably reduce the costs of operating and stopping machines.

For this, a solution has been developed based on the development of sensors based on the fusion of cameras in the near and far infrared range that can detect remotely if there are parts of the passive enclosure that suffer irradiation and intense and sudden heating. The purpose is to achieve the integration of the active security system of the enclosure within the complete ecosystem of the production process, a key objective of Industry 4.0.

The device has been developed by the PROCARELIGHT, EXOM Engineering, NIT and DANOBATGROUP teams and the AFM and secpho clusters. The initiative, in which secpho participates in the coordination and promotion, is financed by the support program for Innovative Business Groups of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism in the 2021 call, whose objective is to digitize the industry.