Part Repair & Sourcing
Light Curtain & Safety Guard Repair
Safety light curtains and light guard systems, tested to specification.
Check the manufacturer's position before sending a safety device
Some manufacturers of electro-sensitive protective equipment prohibit third-party repair of their devices. SICK, whose light curtains are among the most widely installed in UK industry, states in its own product documentation that repair is to be carried out by the manufacturer, and that the protective function must be re-validated after any intervention. Other ESPE manufacturers take comparable positions.
Tell us the make and model when you enquire and we will tell you where you stand before anything is collected. Where an OEM restricts third-party repair, we will say so and point you back to them rather than take the order.
Separately, and in every case: revalidating the safety function on your machine remains your responsibility as the duty holder. A repair certificate covers the device on test. It does not validate your installation.
- 7-day standard turnaround
- 12-month warranty
- Free UK-wide collection
Faults we see most
- Nuisance tripping with nothing in the guarded area
- OSSD faults, or safety outputs failing to switch
- Emitter or receiver segments dead
- Alignment faults after impact
- Unit failing its start-up self-test
- Intermittent operation as the machine warms up
How a repair is proven before it comes back
Nothing is signed off on a power-up. Every unit in this category goes through:
- Full functional test with inputs activated and both OSSD1 and OSSD2 monitored
- Infrared emitters tested to manufacturer specification for alignment and strength
- Beam-by-beam verification across the full protected height
- Response time confirmed
- Complete test documentation returned with the unit
Board-level rework is carried out by IPC7711 and IPC7721 certified technicians working to ISO 9001:2015, and the test evidence comes back with the unit.
Manufacturers covered
The equipment seen most often in this category. If yours is not here it is still worth asking — the fault modes rarely change much between brands.
- SICK
- Omron
- Keyence
- Leuze
- Pilz
- Banner
- Schmersal
How a repair actually runs
Four stages, one point of contact throughout. You deal with us; we deal with the workshop.
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We collect
Tell us what has failed and where it is. Collection is arranged across the UK at no charge, and the unit is booked in against your account with its serial, its symptoms and who reported them.
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We diagnose and quote
The unit is bench-tested to confirm the reported fault before anyone opens it, then stripped to component level. You get a fixed quote and an honest verdict — including when replacement is the better buy.
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We repair
Board-level rework is carried out by IPC-7711/7721 certified technicians working to ISO 9001. Failed components are replaced with tested equivalents, not bodged around.
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We prove it, then return it
Nothing ships on a continuity check. Units are soak tested, load tested and exercised against manufacturer software, and come back with the test evidence and a 12-month warranty.
Common questions
Should a safety light curtain be repaired, or does it have to go back to the manufacturer?
Assume it has to go back to the manufacturer until you have checked. That is not us being cautious about the work — it follows from how these devices are certified:
- A light curtain is electro-sensitive protective equipment (ESPE) under EN/IEC 61496. Unlike most industrial electronics, it cannot be self-certified — an independent body type-examines the device, and the manufacturer's declaration of conformity rests on that examination.
- That certification attaches to the device as it was built and examined. Work carried out outside the manufacturer's authorised process puts the unit outside the conditions of the examination, so the declaration no longer reliably covers it.
- Manufacturers reflect this in their own documentation. SICK, whose curtains are among the most widely installed in UK industry, states that repair is to be carried out by the manufacturer and that the protective function must be re-validated afterwards.
Positions differ by manufacturer and by device, so some units in this category can be repaired by a third party and some genuinely cannot. Tell us the make and model and you will get a straight answer before anything is collected — including when the answer is that nobody but the OEM should touch it.
For where the line sits between certifying a device and validating your safety function, see repairing safety devices.
Does the manufacturer allow third-party repair of these devices?
It depends on the manufacturer, and it is the first thing to check. Some ESPE manufacturers — SICK among them — state in their own documentation that repair is to be carried out by the manufacturer, and require re-validation of the protective function afterwards. The operating instructions supplied with your device are the authoritative source. Tell us the make and model at enquiry stage and we will tell you where you stand before anything is collected.
Why are safety devices treated differently from a drive or a PCB?
Because of how they are certified rather than how they are built. A light curtain is electro-sensitive protective equipment under EN/IEC 61496, which requires type examination by an independent body — a manufacturer cannot self-certify one. That examination covers the device as built, so unauthorised work can put it outside the conditions the declaration of conformity rests on. A variable speed drive carries no equivalent obligation, which is why the same repair shop can work freely on one and not the other.
So is there any safety device you will take on?
Yes, where the manufacturer's position allows it and the device can be verified properly — both OSSD outputs confirmed switching, emitters tested to specification, beam-by-beam checks across the full protected height, response time confirmed, and the evidence returned with the unit. Where the position does not allow it, we will tell you and point you back to the OEM. We would rather lose the order than put you in a position you cannot defend to an auditor or an insurer.
Will we get evidence we can show an auditor?
Yes. Full test documentation comes back with the unit, covering OSSD verification and emitter performance against specification. That evidence covers the device on test; your own revalidation record for the safety function on the machine is a separate document, and an auditor will want both.
Should a repaired safety device be re-validated on site?
Yes — always. The repair evidence confirms the device performs to specification; it does not confirm the safety function as installed on your machine. Re-validate after refitting, as you would with a new unit.
Got a unit that needs looking at?
Send the make, model and what it is doing. You will get a straight answer on whether repair is the right call.
