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INDUSTRIAL

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HEALTH

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PRESENCE SENSING DEVICES FOR

MACHINE GUARDING

Published by the DEPARTMENT OF LABOUR - New Zealand

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Important Note: All the publications in the Archive contain the best guidance available at the time of publishing. However, you should consider the effect of any changes to the law since then. You should also check that the Standards referred to are still current.

Published by the Department of Labour Wellington New Zealand Date: not known. (Reprint from Labour & Employment Gazette)

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Contents
MACHINERY HAZARDS 4 4

Requirements of the Machinery Act 1950 Description and Requirements Application 5 5 5 4

Other Guarding to be Used PHOTO-ELECTRIC DEVICES Construction Problems Remedies 5 6 7

Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) Control Unit 8

RADIO FREQUENCY CAPACITANCE SYSTEMS 8 Disadvantages 9 9 9

ULTRASONIC DEVICES

PRESSURE SENSITIVE MATS Disadvantages 9

PRESENCE SENSING DEVICES USED FOR GUARDING PRESS BRAKES 10

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MACHINERY HAZARDS
The Industrial Welfare Division of the Department of Labour is concerned specifically with safeguarding human life and limb in compliance with Section 17 of the Machinery Act 1950. In this context the hazards, frequently referred to as trapping hazards, are those relating to personnel, including operators and maintenance staff using machinery, who would be endangered if the safeguards provided do not function correctly and as intended.

Requirements of the Machinery Act 1950

Sections 15, 16 and 17 of the Machinery Act require that moving parts of the prime mover, every part of any transmission machinery and every dangerous part of any machinery be securely fenced, unless the parts are in such a position or of such construction as to be safe to every person employed or working on the premises as they would be if securely fenced. These requirements can be met by: 1. 2. Complete enclosure of the prime mover and transmission. Fitting a guard which will prevent a worker from coming into contact with the dangerous part when the machine is in motion. Section 17(l) paragraph 2 of the Machinery Act 1950 states: Provided that insofar as the safety of a dangerous part of any machinery cannot by reason of the nature of the operation be secured by means of a fixed guard, the requirements of this subsection shall be deemed to have been complied with if a device is provided which automatically prevents the operator from coming into contact with that part. If the dangerous part can be stopped, thus rendering it no longer dangerous, before the operator or any other person in the vicinity comes into contact with it, then the above provision would be met. It is the view of the Department that this sets the standard for a device employing presence sensing principles.

Description and Requirements

A presence sensing machine guard is one which, without placing a physical barrier between the operator and the dangerous parts of the machine, senses the approach of a body or part of a body and, ensures that: 1. While any part of an operators body is within the sensing field of the device, dangerous motion cannot start, and; 2. Should any part of the operators body enter the sensing field of the device while the machine is operating, all dangerous motion shall stop before the operator can reach the dangerous parts.

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Application
It has been established that a hand moving quickly can travel 600mm in only 0.3 seconds. So it follows that these devices can only be practicably applied to machines which can be stopped from any point in their cycle, e.g. hydraulic machines and those fitted with friction clutches and efficient braking systems. Machines with positive full revolution clutches should not be fitted with presence sensing guards. Some machines are only considered dangerous during part of their cycle (e.g. the closing stroke of some hydraulic presses), and the guard can be de-activated during the opening stroke of some machines, allowing removal of the finished product and placement of a new workpiece, thus not slowing production. Other machines may require some modifications to make them suitable for presence sensing guards. For example, when an intrusion is sensed, shutting off the air supply to a pneumatic press during the closing stroke will not stop the ram immediately. Therefore a solenoid valve should be fitted which would immediately reverse the connections to the press cylinder. The ram will thus return to the fully open position. A quick exhaust valve fitted to the main pressure side of the press cylinder will aid this fast reversal.

Other Guarding to be Used

If, as is normally the case, the sensing field of the device does not cover all sides of the machine then access to the dangerous parts of the machine from any other direction must be prevented by suitable barriers such as static fixed guards or interlocked fixed guards.

PHOTO-ELECTRIC DEVICES
This type is by far the most commonly used presence sensing device in New Zealand at the moment, and has been successfully fitted to a number of different types of machines such as press brakes and paper cutting guillotines.

Construction
The main components of a photo-electric device used for machine guarding are the transmitter, the receiver, and the control unit. In general, the transmitter unit is placed at one end of the area to be guarded, the receiver unit at the other, and the control unit is placed in a convenient place near the machine controls. The transmitter consists of a series of light emitting devices with lenses or reflectors to focus beams of light across the guarded area. The receiver consists of a matching series of photo-sensitive devices which monitor the beams of light from the transmitter. The control unit monitors these

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Fig. 1 (above): Photo-electric guard fitted to a press brake (vertical scanner in use).

Fig. 2 (right): Horizontal scanner in use. Note: Side and rear guards have been omitted for clarity. This also applies to fig. 1.

photo-cells and sends a signal to stop the machine if an intrusion stops one or more of the light beams from reaching the matching photo-cell.

Problems
Problems associated with photo-electric devices include: (a) Sunlight or intense artificial lighting may fall on photo-cells and cause them to remain sensitised even when the light beams from the transmitter are obstructed. This situation would allow the machine to continue operating. (b) (c) Accurate alignment of beams is necessary at all times. Filament lamps are prone to failure due to vibration. In an industrial environment, failures may be common, immobilising the machine until replacements are fitted. (d) Dirty, dusty or oily environments may require that the transmitter

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and receiver be cleaned frequently, and in an industrial environment, the transmitter and receiver may occasionally be knocked by work pieces, materials handling equipment, workers tools etc., so robust construction is essential.

Remedies
Modifications to the standard photo-electric device have been successfully tried to overcome these problems. (a) One design uses only one lamp and one photo-cell, both at the same end of the machine and a series of mirrors at either end to reflect the beam back and forth across the guarded area. This reduces the cost and the number of components, but increases the need for very accurate alignment. (b) Another system uses corner cube reflectors at one end of the machine and a series of lamps and adjacent photo-cells at the other end. This reduces the need for accurate alignment as corner cube reflectors always reflect the light parallel to the incoming light beam. (c) To combat the problem of sunlight interfering with the photo-cells, tunnels may be fitted pointing towards the transmitter and painted matt black on the inside to ensure that only light from the transmitter will reach the photo-cell. Alternatively, pulsed or modulated light may be transmitted and the receiver circuitry tuned to accept only the transmitted frequency. Thus, if a light beam is obstructed or a continuous light source interferes with the receiver the machine will stop thus failing to safety.

Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs)

These are often used for the following reasons: They can be easily pulsed. They operate on a low voltage. They have a longer life expectancy than filament lamps, especially when being pulsed. They can be fitted with filters which screen out all frequencies of light except the infra-red emitted by the LEDs. It is claimed that these filters reduce the possibility of interference from other light sources.

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The alignment may not be so critical with LEDs as with filament lamps. Mirrors can be fitted at a corner of a machine to bend the light beams so more than one side of a machine can be guarded by the same device, although this increases alignment problems.

Control Unit
The control circuit may monitor all beams continuously or may check each beam individually in sequence, especially when pulsed light is used. It should be noted that the maximum response-time of the device should be kept as short as possible. The circuitry should be fail-safe in that failure or surges of the power supply or any failure of any component in the system should cause the machine to come to a stop rather than allow it to continue operating. Self-checking features should be included where possible. One such device checks the control circuit for correct operation once every 25 milliseconds.

RADIO FREQUENCY CAPACITANCE SYSTEMS

These devices are believed to be commonly used overseas, and are being considered for use on certain types of machines in New Zealand. The system consists of a combined transmitter/sensor unit and one or more conductors or antennae. The antennae are placed around the perimeter of the area to be guarded and connected to the control unit. A radio frequency field is set up within the parameters of the antennae and the sensor is tuned to accept the unobstructed field. An intrusion into the field by any conducting object or any part of the operators body will change the electrical properties of the field, which the sensor will detect and cause the machine to stop. The antennae may be bent so the field can be bent around corners to cover more than one face of a machine.

Fig. 3: Radio frequency device fitted to a hydraulic press.

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Disadvantages
The system can be detuned by any large masses of metal near the field. Also any workpiece projecting through the field will probably trigger the sensor and cause the machine to stop. The antennae surrounding the guarded area may also create a physical barrier even when the machine is switched off. As with photo electric devices, the control circuitry must be fail safe and preferably self-checking.

ULTRASONIC DEVICES
This system consists of paired ultrasonic transmitters and receivers connected to a control unit, and operates in a similar manner to a photo-electric device. Although no completed systems are known to be in operation yet, tests indicate that these devices may prove practicable and acceptable in some situations.

PRESSURE SENSITIVE MATS

These devices are in the form of a mat, surrounding the sides of the machine which are not otherwise guarded or fenced. The mat contains electrical or fluid switches/ valves, so that when pressure is applied on the mat one or more of the switches are triggered and the machine is brought to rest. As long as the pressure remains on the mat the machine cannot be started. The machine is operated from outside the area of the mat.

Fig. 4: Pressure sensitive mat fitted to a press brake.

Disadvantages
The system requires a large area of floor to be covered which cannot be gainfully employed. No workpiece or other objects can be placed on the mat and pedestrian traffic, forklifts, trolleys etc. must be kept off it.

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PRESENCE SENSING DEVICES USED FOR GUARDING PRESS BRAKES
The presence sensing device, fitted with an appropriate control unit, can make a very versatile machine guard, as illustrated by the operating modes available on some devices designed for use on press brakes. The press brake is generally only considered dangerous during the closing stroke and is considered not dangerous when the tool has reached a point 6mm or less above the top of the die block on the closing stroke, and during the opening stroke. The guard may then be muted or switched off when the tool reaches the 6mm muting point on the closing stroke and remain de-activated during the opening stroke. This allows the beam to be stopped when it has reached the muting point, so the operator can walk into the previously guarded area, insert the workpiece or align a previously inserted workpiece and complete the closing stroke while supporting the workpiece. N.B. The Department has tentatively agreed to a maximum distance of 10 mm between the tool and the die instead of 6 mm referred to above, because of practical difficulties in performing certain operations on the press brake. The photo-electric press brake guards usually come with five or six operating modes which are selected by simply turning a switch to the desired position. Three of the common modes are as follows: (a) Depression of the electric foot pedal outside the guarded area brings the beam down to the muting position. The operator then steps into the previously guarded area and uses the mechanical foot pedal (or equivalent if it is a hydraulic machine) to move the beam through bottom dead centre and back up to top dead centre. (b) Depression of the electric foot pedal will cause the ram to complete one full cycle-through bottom dead centre back to top dead centre. (c) Pulsing: in this mode the guard is de-activated, and the beam can be moved in pre-determined steps or pulses. These pulses may be 10mm or less each and the beam stops in pre-determined positions. When the bean reaches the muting point, the press brake will respond to the foot control in normal fashion for the remainder of the cycle. NOTE: (1) The use of pulsing places abnormal strain on clutch and braking systems (or hydraulic control valves on hydraulic machines). (2) Pulsing should only be used for tool setting and for jobs that are impossible to perform using any of the other available modes.

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(3) The pulse mode should only be used by or under the supervision of a responsible person. (4) As the pulse mode can cause injury, it cannot be considered as sufficient safeguard instead of some other suitable guarding system. Hence, a machine fitted only with a pulse mode is not acceptable to the Department as complying with the Machinery Act. To further increase the versatility, both horizontal and vertical scanners can be provided. When the vertical scanner is in use, the operator does not have to step back very far to clear the screen or curtain of light beams but any large prefolded jobs may interrupt the screen, thus stopping the machine. In this case, the horizontal screen can be used instead of the vertical one. Although the horizontal screen is lower than the vertical one, being set just below die height, the outer light beam is further out, preventing the operator from reaching the trapping area. The change may be made by switching between two fixed transmitter/receiver units, or by hinging the transmitter and receiver, positioning them as required. Additional light beams or other means such as a distance table are usually provided to prevent the operator standing between the machine and the guard scanner. Owners of machinery considering the use of any presence sensing device for their machines would be well advised to discuss the proposals with a factory inspector in their area. If necessary, assistance and guidance from the engineering staff in Head Office is also available.

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