Pneumatic Safety Systems and Cylinder Speed Control

Overview:

The advancements in automation systems have led to tremendous increases in productivity for manufacturers. Machine controls utilizing sensing and verifi cation of the product and position sensing of machine components allows for higher speeds of equipment and improvements in quality. Improvements in safety have also been achieved, greatly reducing the instances where operators are required to interact with the equipment during operation. However, automated machines are not autonomous. Material deviations or component malfunctions still require an operator to investigate and alleviate the situation. Because of this, operators and maintenance personnel must access potentially hazardous areas in the machine for functions such as clearing jams and other routine production related issues. These production related issues must of course be done in a safe manner; advancements in safety control systems are helping to make this possible.