Sick deTec4 and DCM4
Product Spolight
Smarter Safety Starts Here: Meet the SICK deTec Safety Light Curtain
When it comes to protecting personnel and ensuring efficient material flow, the SICK deTec safety light curtain stands out as one of the smartest and most flexible solutions on the market.
Designed for hazardous point protection, access guarding, and distinguishing between people and materials, deTec gives machine builders and end users both safety and performance – without added complexity.
Why customers choose the deTec
✔ Intelligent, application‑ready safety
The deTec series is engineered for guarding hazardous points and entrances while differentiating between man and material in automated flows – making it ideal for packaging, intralogistics, automotive, and general machine design.
✔ Smart diagnostics via IO‑Link & NFC
Modern technologies like NFC and IO‑Link simplify diagnostics, reduce troubleshooting time, and enable deeper integration with automation systems. This provides actionable data for downstream processes and supports predictive maintenance strategies.
✔ Scalable function packages
deTec offers flexible, scalable function packages — from basic safety functions to advanced muting configurations — helping users tailor the system to their exact application needs.
✔ Lower installation & integration costs
The consistent housing design, unified mounting approach, and flexible connection concept significantly reduce cabling complexity, installation time, and configuration costs.
✔ Built for demanding environments
Special variants are available for:
- High‑hygiene areas
- Chemical exposure
- Explosion-hazardous zones
This ensures reliable performance even in harsh industrial conditions.
Where deTec excels
- Packaging machinery
- Intralogistics & automated conveyors
- Machine tools & general automation
- Hazardous point guarding
- Access protection in robotic cells
If your customers need a light curtain that is simple to integrate and powerful enough for intelligent systems, deTec is the smart choice.
Smart safety functions for deTec4 safety light curtains: DCM4
The DCM4 extension module makes the deTec4 safety light curtains even more intelligent for hazardous point and access protection. Smart functions such as blanking, reduced resolution (Advanced) and smart restart interlock increase productivity in applications with safe finger and hand detection. The object pattern recognition function is an alternative to muting: It can be used to safely monitor access to hazardous areas even when the material flow is active. When the protective field is active, it also enables reliable differentiation between people and materials, allowing for the safe passage of pallets, transfer cars and mobile robots. All DCM4 functions can be configured and checked quickly and easily using the free Safety Designer software.
DCM 4 Overview
DCM4 Operating Modes
DCM4 Object Pattern Recognition
Ask an Engineer
The Sick DCM4 allows for simplified setup of advanced light curtain guarding tasks when combined with the DeTec4 light curtains. The DCM4 allows us to use Sick’s intuitive Safety Designer Software to select our application settings, and since the same software can be used for the rest of the Sick Safety line the entire application can be captured in a single project file. With advanced protection modes like Object Pattern Recognition, Dynamic Operating Mode changes, Smart Box Detection, and traditional muting, the DCM4 allows us to support many more applications with fewer part numbers and cables. For our Open House show I was able to set up smart box detection for the first time in less than 15 minutes. This feature allowed boxes of a specified height range to pass while maintaining safe detection of hands or other unexpected objects, all without any additional sensors or parts. We are definitely excited about the release of the DCM4, and look forward to getting it in the hands of our customers.
Ready to learn more?
Mechatronic Solutions offers local support, inventory, and expertise to help you specify the right deTec variant for any safety application. Complete the form below, and one of our application experts will reach out to assist you within 24 hours.