During cleaning or maintenance of the press, it was important to prevent the tamperhead from falling down and injuring the operative. The safety equipment that came with the machine includes two 35mm diameter pins that were placed though a frame work to act as a back-up measure if the hydraulics
should fail.
There is a problem with this arrangement concerning the mould tooling that is connected to the underside of the tamperhead carriage. The tool is held in place with six hydraulic clamps. The clamp pins are 30mm in diameter and are not tested and they are only maintained and replaced when they become ineffective or are damaged.
To provide a safer environment, a safety chain has been designed which is placed around the tamperhead and the mould tooling to prevent any movement
at all in the tamperhead, should the hydraulics fail.
Cleaning and maintenance can now take place under isolation without a concern of hydraulic failure. |