Automotive Manufacturing

The highest level of safety and people protection

✅ Our interlocks meet the highest level of safety. Many of our interlocks are certified independently by TUV to PLe. Our amGardpro range is even rated to PLe for guard locking, so there is no need to fit two interlocks on gates as amGardpro is so strong that one is enough.
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✅ Our customisability ensures you can create an application which meets your exact safety requirements to ensure your people get the highest level of protection.

✅ Talk to our safety experts to help you navigate complex safety standards and ensure your people get the best possible protection.

Less downtime​

✅ Our interlocks are built to last, our amGardpro range has undergone 5,000,000 cycles in testing to ensure they last, even with lots of use.

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✅ This ensures that you reduce the number of equipment failures to stop unnecessary downtime when something goes wrong, it is not uncommon for us to get a request for a quote on products we have supplied 20+ years ago.

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✅ Even if you have inhouse spares, a machine being down for an hour while units are replaced can have significant costs, espechally in automotive – you don’t want your entire line stopping because an interlock failed on one robot cell, so the longer they last the better.

Cheaper and faster installation​

✅ Long cable runs due to equipment being large, with many access points like a power train assembly line, can incur hefty installation costs. 

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✅ Networked Fortress products can reduce any cable runs by large amounts and help save commissioning and installation time. Daisy chaining our connected products further saves on these costs.

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✅ Also, reduce SKU’s for your machinery by integrating controls, both safe (e.g. an E-stop) and non-safe as well as external I/O connected to the interlock.​

Fast re-start to prevent downtime​

✅ Having machine controls as part of the interlock on the door access point you can speed up machine restart once a blocking has been cleared or issue delt with.

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✅ amGardpro and tGard units can have interlocks fully customisable machine controls from buttons to E-stops, lamps and selection switches. All can be custom engraved as well so no mistake is made when trying to quickly enter an area. ​

Control who can access to prevent downtime​

✅ Untrained people trying to help can cause more of an issue then they solve if they access an area to fix an issue without knowing how to do this in the most efficient way.

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✅ Restricting access to an area to authorised personnel only can give large productivity gains by making sure things are fixed first time, the right way.

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✅ The Fortress FRANK system can be integrated into our interlocks to control access to your automation equipment using you r exiting RFID building access cards to the authorised personnel only.​

Whole body access protection without presence sensing​

✅ Robotics lines have many whole body access areas. Nuisance tripping from presence sensing causing downtime can be very costly in the automotive sector.

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✅ Ensuring you prevent unexpected start up is vital as someone maintaining or fixing a machine can be put in a lot of danger if this occurs.

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✅ This makes Fortress’ extracted personnel (or safety) key a great solution automotive, the hazardous area cannot be accessed until a key has been removed from Fortress’ interlock, this will then prevent the machine from being restarted while the operator has the personnel key with them. This also ensures fast access and restart to prevent unwanted downtime as well as being immune to nuisance tripping which radar, laser scanners and other people detection methods can cause.​