Regardless of industry, product, or machine design, one thing remains constant — the need for safety. Every automation machine, big or small, contains mechanical and electrical components that can lead to injury or death.
Depending on the complexity and size of the machine, safety measures can include large fences, safety light curtains, and top-of-the-line laser area scanners. The one product they will all have is an emergency or safety stop switch.
These simple devices are designed to save lives. Power that energizes robots, conveyors and other potentially harmful equipment is routed through the switch. When the plunger is not engaged, the circuit is completed, and the machine operates normally. If an emergency occurs and the plunger is pressed, two physical actions occur:
- The circuit is interrupted, cutting off power from the equipment
- The button locks itself in its pressed state.
The last action is what makes an emergency stop different from a normal push-button control. If the plunger did not lock in place, then the circuit could re-engage and energize the equipment. For example, if the circuit were completed, an injury would occur if someone were to get trapped in the machine.
Along with the physical operation of these emergency switches, they are also designed to be easy to locate and use. If any passerby were to witness an accident about to occur, they could easily locate the large, bright red plunger and know to press it.
Regardless of the complexity of the machine or technology used to create a safety system, emergency stop switches is the one component that is always used. MISUMI offers a variety of brands designed to be integrated into your machine, including Murrelektronik and IDEC. Each operates under the same basic design and is intended to save lives.
If you need help selecting the right safety switch for your machine, explore our selection here.
