Factory Automation Safety
Safety is the Number One Priority When Planning to Automate
Your Factory
In Factory Automation, safety, must be considered, from day one.
Our prime concern, is operator freedom from all types of
physical harm.
The first concern, during the design phase, of a new machine or system, is
elimination of all pinch points. Fingers are valuable digits! they must be
protected!
When components are placed, in a fixture, they must stay in position and
the operator cannot hold parts in place, during movement or dangerous
operations.
The photo above, showing a dial indexer, designed and built, by my company,
shows the type of guarding, used today.
The outer perimeter, of the machine, is covered, using a frame of extruded
aluminum and panels of clear (or "smoked") plexi-glass. Doors are provided,
for maintenance access, with electrical, fail safe, switches. At the operator's
station, (in the foreground) a formed, plexi-glass, screen can be seen. This
prevents the operator from reaching into the other automatic stations, where he
or she, could come to serious harm. Realize, that in order to minimize cycle
time, all the stations, are operating, simultaneously with the operator loading
parts.
Not visible, in the photo, is the last level of operator protection the
safety light curtain.
The purpose of this, is to ensure the operator, is out of harm's way,
when the dial indexes.
The use of the guarding and light curtain, as described above, is used for
Stand-Alone Machines, as well as
Linear Transfer Systems (LTS). At least at Automatic Stations, or operator
controlled stations, feeding an LTS.
Robot-safety
is discussed on it's own page.
For manufacturers of Aluminum Extrusions, used in the construction of guarding,
try these links:
Bosch Rexroth
Parker
Please note that the above listed companies are by no means the only
manufacturers, nor the only ones we have used, over the years, but they do make an
excellent product, THAT IN THE CORRECT APPLICATION, should give years of trouble
free service.
To find out more
about how your company can work safety into it's planning, please feel free to contact us.
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