Safety and drive control systems on the Goss Community press at Fairfax Media’s Launceston Examiner print site in Tasmania, have been upgraded.

The project included interfacing unit and folder guards, with more than 120 guard switches, to new operator screens and the installation of a new press drive.

Peter Tomazic of contractor Rockwell Automation says spare parts for the existing Allen Bradley DC drives were becoming limited and integrating PowerFlex drives – which meet category three standards – into the safety system was an easier option. These communicate to a new safety controller, and allow extensive drive diagnostics.

Tomazic says the upgrade provides a single platform to control all drive and safety functions. “This means only limited spares are required, training has to be undertaken on only one platform, and all the software is programmed in one environment, instead of two as on older systems,” he says.