There's no longer any need to rely on mechanical devices alone in safety applications, if ifm electronic has anything to do with it. The company recently introduced a family offail-safe inductive sensors that can be used in Category 4 (EN 954-1) or SIL 3 (EN61508) safety applications.Equipped with fully redundant circuits, these self-diagnostic sensors are available in rectangular (40x40mm, flush and non-flush) and cylindrical (M18 and M30) formats. A special version of the M30 can also be used in hazardous areas (Category 3 and ATEX 3D/3G). The Category 4 M18 and M30 sensors are both sealed to IP69K, and their materials of construction (stainless steel and PEEK polymer) allow them to be used in food processing environments subject to wash down.The sensors can be connected to an external controller with safe outputs, or to a safety PLC running approved software. ifm electronic also offers a safety slave for the AS-i Safety at Work network with built-in controller; this is capable of monitoring eight inductive switches simultaneously.