Enhanced safety features through reverse engineering – Double switch
Introduction
Reverse engineering often involves requests to recreate parts from older machines that are no longer supported.
However, many older machines prioritize production capacity and do not meet modern safety standards. While the machines may function without problems, we sometimes receive requests to manufacture new parts to ensure worker safety.
In this column, we will introduce some of those problems.
Say goodbye to pinching accidents! Double switch
In machines that perform actions such as gripping or pushing parts, if a part of the body gets caught, it can result in a serious and irreversible accident.
One way to prevent pinching is to install safety fences, as I mentioned in a previous column.
However, installing safety fences would require opening them first to access the machinery, which would worsen work efficiency.
If the machine takes some time to process the workpiece once it's set, the number of times the safety fence needs to be opened and closed is infrequent, so it doesn't pose a major problem.
However, in the case of machines where each processing step is completed in just a few seconds, the time required to open and close the safety fence is multiplied by the number of processing steps, resulting in increased time and a greater burden on the workers.
Therefore, for machines that perform processing on a relatively small scale and at a high frequency, we propose the installation of a double switch.
Simply put, a double switch is a switch that has two start buttons, and the machine will not operate unless both buttons are pressed.
Some of you might be wondering how this relates to safety, but pinch accidents are basically accidents that occur when a part of the body gets inside a machine and the machine starts operating.
By requiring both buttons to be pressed before the device can operate, the operator's hands are always touching the buttons during operation, ensuring they are never free, thus virtually eliminating the risk of pinching accidents.
When using a double switch, you need to pay attention to the placement and mechanism of the switches.
There's no point in having a double switch if both buttons can be pressed with one hand using your elbow or other body parts.
Furthermore, there are cases where workers make their own modifications to the machinery in an attempt to improve work efficiency.
In some workplaces, workers try to keep one button pressed down by inserting something into it, so it's necessary to implement measures such as disabling a button if it's pressed down for an extended period of time.
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