1 May, 2023

❌ ISO 13849-1:2023 – Do Not Use ❌

by Doug Nix
in Canada, CE Mark, EMC, Emergency Stop, EMO Emergency Off, EU European Union, Functional Safety, Interlocks, Interlocks, International, ISO 13849, Ontario, Pre-Start Health and Safety Reviews, Robotics, Safety-Critical Software, Standards /
4 Comments

This is a first On Thursday, 2023-04-27, ISO published ISO 13849-1:2023, the 4th edition of the dominant functional safety standard for machinery. Usually, I would be the first to tell you that you should buy the standard as quickly as possible and start using it immediately. Today is not a normal day. As Command Module…

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8 February, 2022

Emergency Off (EMO) vs Emergency Stop

by Doug Nix
in Control Functions, Emergency Stop, EMO Emergency Off, Hierarchy of Controls, Standards /
2 Comments
EMO Button, red with yellow surround. Credit: D. Nix

The concept of Emergency Off (EMO) used by the semiconductor manufacturing sector is similar in many ways to the emergency stop used in all other types of machinery, with some differences. This article covers the differences between these concepts. NOTE: This is a long post! TL;DR: EMO and emergency stop are very similar; however, some…

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