Industrial Safety Applications

Industrial settings such as chemical processing plants, injection molding facilities and automated factories call for reliable safety products such as light curtains and E-stops to help protect personnel and equipment

Keeping both people and machinery safe from industrial hazards is a top priority in today’s highly automated production environments. That’s why IDEC offers advanced safety devices featuring the latest protective technology to suit a wide range of applications. Following are some of the most common environments where IDEC’s extensive range of safety products are installed:

Metal Forming, Stamping and Machining

Metal processing and fabrication equipment is used to form, stamp and machine metal into various shapes and sizes for an extensive range of applications. Bulk deformation processes include rolling, forging, extrusion and others, while sheet metalworking involves operations such as bending, shearing and deep drawing. Stamping presses use tool and die surfaces to work metal into shape, while machining operations require CNC cutters and machine tools for metal fabrication. All of these processes and the heavy equipment involved pose safety hazards to the operators who run this equipment.

Rollers, dies, presses and CNC machines must have the right safeguards to keep your personnel protected from erratic or unexpected motion. For example, safety laser scanners help protect personnel and machinery in hazardous areas by using reflected laser beams to detect if a human or object is present. Light curtains ensure workplace safety by protecting fingers, hands and bodies in dangerous machine areas. To help prevent injuries and keep equipment up and running, IDEC offers a full line of safety products including the devices listed below and many others:

Injection Molding and Plastics Processing

During plastic injection molding, operators must be protected from certain hazards related to opening and closing the mold mechanism, as well as the nozzle and screw areas of the injection unit. Safety devices such as interlock switches for machine guards and light towers that signal operating errors are essential components of plastic molding machines. Having the proper safety components in place is vital to ensuring workers are safe from the movable platen and injection areas.

IDEC’s line of compact interlock switches ensure operator safety by only allowing machines and processes to start when doors, gates and guard systems are closed. In addition, a variety of light towers provide visual safety signals to alert personnel about unusual or dangerous conditions. E-stops are available for strategic placement in areas where operators may need to suddenly halt machine motion, such as the space between the mold area guard and the mold itself. IDEC offers a full line of safety devices for injection molding, including:

Assembly Lines

Today’s fast-paced assembly environments feature many kinds of automated equipment and dynamic robots that can pose a collision hazard to operators who interact with these machines. Installing the proper safety devices such as teach pendants with E-stops will keep your workers safe from erratic robot movements and machinery action. In addition, devices such as enabling and grip switches only allow robot and machine motion when a button is lightly pressed, keeping operators safe from unexpected moves.

Clear and bright visual signals also help protect workers by indicating the status of moving machine parts. For example, surface mount indicators on the front and sides of equipment alert operators to the status of robot arms, AGVs, picking systems, rollers and other dynamic parts. IDEC offers an extensive range of safety products that help human operators work alongside automated machinery and industrial robots with confidence. Some of these products include:

Enabling and Grip Switches
E-Stop Switches
Robot Teach Pendants with E-Stops
Surface Mount Indicators

Factory Automation

With regard to today’s smart factories, it is estimated that most industries have automated 20% to 30% of their operations, while the automotive industry has automated closer to 50%. In this era of highly dynamic working environments, more attention than ever must be paid to keeping personnel safe from the hazards of moving machinery. The right safety products installed in the correct areas help protect workers from things like colliding with an automated guided vehicle (AGV) or running into a fast-moving robot arm.

IDEC’s complete lineup of reliable and cost-effective safety devices help protect equipment operators in these highly automated work settings. From safety laser scanners that use laser beams to detect humans and objects in the path of AGVs and forklifts to light curtains and E-stop switches, IDEC has your workplace covered. Some of the main safety devices used in today’s automated factories include:

Petroleum and Chemical Plants

At industrial sites such as petrochemical plants and others that regularly use explosive gases, special care must be taken to prevent ignition sources from sparking and lighting. For example, when used around hazardous chemicals, gases or other ignitable atmospheres, intrinsic safety barriers limit the energy supplied to sensors and actuators, which helps prevent fires and explosions. Specialized control boxes and displays also ensure worker safety by providing rugged explosion-proof and flameproof housing around sensitive electronics.

IDEC’s full lineup of explosion-proof products help keep workers safe by minimizing the possibility of flames and fires that can lead to industrial accidents. Some of these products include:

Explosion-proof display enclosures with touchscreens
Flameproof safety control boxes
Safety relay barriers that limit current, voltage and energy supply