Safety relay

Safety relays are devices that generally implement safety functions.

Relays and contactors used to control plant and machinery in the early days of control technology. In the event of a hazardous situation, the actuator was simply isolated from the energy supply. This type of protection system could be manipulated in the event of a malfunction, disabling the protective function. Special relay circuits, such as the three-contactor combination, were the first designs to come out of deliberations into how this could be avoided. These device combinations led to the development of the first safety relay from the German automation manufacturer Pilz, the PNOZ.