Application to welding cells and robotic cells
The situation
Modern robotic cells are almost perfectly safe from human intrusion during robot operation. However, accidents still occur, most often due to human error. An example is when one worker starts the robot while another is inside the cell.
How can Thermosafety be applied to welding cells and robotic cells?
Thermosafety recognizes humans and distinguishes them from other elements inside the cell. As a result, it does not interfere with the robot’s operation, because its movement, if the arm appears in the danger zone, will not trigger an alarm response. For that, it does not allow the process to start when the human is inside.
Here are examples of situations in which Thermosafety can prevent an undesirable course of events:
- Maintenance workers want to adjust the position of a welding robot. The easiest way to do this is to control the robot from inside the cell, and sometimes it’s not even possible otherwise. All it takes to cause an accident is for workers to confuse the startup mode. Meanwhile, Thermosafety could, if a human is detected in the zone, allow the robot to run at a minimum speed.
- During maintenance work, several people often work in one large robotic cell. Occasionally, someone will be locked inside when the routine is over. When trying to start up, Thermosafety would not allow the robot to resume operation.
- Some processes cannot be fully safeguarded. When large, diverse parts enter the robot cell, ensuring safety is either impossible or economically unjustifiable. Adding a complementary system, like Thermosafety, can solve this problem. The system’s AI recognizes people and does not react to machines or delivered workpieces.
Application at large, difficult to secure machines
The situation
Large machines are not uncommon in the manufacturing industry. Presses, saws, turntables, and furnaces are just a few of the plethora of large equipment used. Even some robots have huge dimensions and their mere appearance is terrifying. However, people can get used to such machines and work on them without paying much attention to them. Despite this, such machines remain very dangerous. Examples of big machines include:
- the largest press in the world has a pressure of 80,000 tons! Compared to such a machine, the body seems like a small toy.
- the largest industrial robot (made by FANUC) can move elements weighing 2.3 tons.
- the largest milling machine in the world works in a field of 14 x 54 m. It is not difficult to imagine missing a man inside such a milling machine.
Since not noticing a man inside such large machines is easy to imagine, the risk of an accident is quite high. When dealing with such great forces, the possible consequences of an unfortunate event will be tragic.
How can Thermosafety be applied to large machines?
Thermosafety comes to help in securing the interior of such machines. Observing the inside of the machine, the system will never allow the machine to start when there is a human inside. Due to its ability to distinguish a person from other elements (fixed and moving), Thermosafety will not react during the normal operation of the machine.
Application at industrial mills, shredders, and grinders
The situation
You need to grind rock containing the right minerals to make metal ore. The grain must be ground into flour in a mill to bake bread. Juices or oils are created by pressing plants. However, it is not only the manufacture of a product that can begin with grinding. The end of a product’s life also takes place at a large mill in a waste sorting plant.
There are usually people working at all such mills and grinders. Workers who would be on the conveyor belt leading to the mill or shredder are in mortal danger. Their unauthorized appearance on the conveyor belt can be caused by a number of situations:
- a worker decided to walk up the conveyor belt because he was tired;
- a sorting plant employee stepped onto the conveyor belt to unblock something;
- an operator was pulled by the conveyor belt;
- a worker fainted and fell on the conveyor.
Humans have little chance of survival when they fall into such destructive machinery. An accident at a Polish waste sorting plant illustrates the consequences of a human encounter with this type of machinery.
How can Thermosafety be applied to industrial mills, shredders and grinders?
The system constantly monitors designated premise zones. As a result, it is able to react in the event of an unforeseen human presence in the danger area. By checking what is leaving for the mill or shredder, it will spot a person and stop the process. At the same time, it will not react to semi-finished products being delivered to the machines or other machinery in the zone.
Application at injection molding machines and presses
The situation
Usually, it is the manufacturers who protect these machines from human intrusion into the working area when the machine is running. The machines are enclosed, and any opening of the door causes them to stop. It is also assumed that while a person is in the danger zone, the door remains open and no one will start the machine.
Accidents usually occur when a worker is servicing a machine or mold and does not mark the machine and work area. The other worker, unaware of the presence of a colleague inside the machine, closes the door, guards, and starts the machine.
How can Thermosafety be applied to presses and injection molding machines?
The use of a system that distinguishes between people and machines is the best solution. The operation of an injection molding machine or a press will not trigger an alarm. However, if someone is inside the machine, Thermosafety will not allow it to trigger a mold shutdown. Even if the other person closes the door and tries to start the machine, Thermosafety will prevent it.
Application for large process lines, conveyor belts and conveyors
The situation
A special feature of these lines is that they have multiple entrances – inspection windows. One entrance is not enough since the size of the installation does not allow this. In addition, the time required to reach all elements from one entrance would be too long. Unfortunately, the size of the installation makes it impossible to see the whole line. Hence, a person might still be inside when others are closing the entrance.
As a result, there is a risk of starting the line when a person is inside, putting them in great danger.
The components produced complicate the matter even more as they are often diverse and large. Because of this, it is impossible to safeguard entrances with curtains or scanners. In such cases, operators must remember not to go inside the machines. They must be aware of the danger and be extremely systematic in observing health and safety rules and regulations.
How can Thermosafety be used with large process lines, conveyor belts, and conveyors?
Installing Thermosafety inside large production lines will not allow machines to resume operation while there is a human inside. In addition, it will prevent a person from entering the place where manufactured parts are delivered while the machine is running. Thermosafety will neither react to moving parts of the line nor to parts being delivered to the process. It will only react immediately if a human enters the machine.
As a result of installing Thermosafety, the safety of workers and process lines is no longer dependent on fatigue or human decisions. Our intelligent safety system will watch over the safety of workers no matter what condition they are in.
Application in automated warehouses
The situation
A requirement of these warehouse spaces is that no human being should be present inside during operation. Machines moving around the warehouse often reach high speeds. As a result, most of the moving parts of an automated warehouse are very dangerous. Therefore, safety is achieved by fencing off the entire installation.
However, from time to time a person must enter the warehousing space. An example is maintenance work. During it, all dangerous components are immobilized. This is because the opening of its door stops either a part or the whole of the automatic warehouse.
At the same time, there is a risk of the warehouse machinery startup from the outside while there is still a person inside…
How can Thermosafety be used in automated warehouses?
Our safety system for the manufacturing industry will detect any human inside the installation without allowing dangerous elements and machines to start operation. At the same time, normal operation and moving automatic warehouse elements will not trigger a stop, because Thermosafety is unresponsive to elements other than humans.
Application in areas with limited visibility, pedestrian/forklift intersections
The situation
Many accidents in the industry are caused by forklifts. A forklift is a piece of equipment that, even at low speeds, poses a great danger to humans. In both factories and warehouses, forklifts move right next to pedestrians. The aforementioned situations differ in that in a factory, forklift roads are not separated from pedestrian paths by curbs. Because of this difference in infrastructure, the forklift operator will not feel when they enter the pedestrian road, thus creating a danger for pedestrians.
In many situations, the forklift must cross or enter the pedestrian way. The operator should then exercise extreme caution. Unfortunately, in many places visibility is so limited that it is easy to make a mistake. The forklift operator has no chance to see the pedestrian. In addition, the load he is transporting further limits visibility.
Pedestrian detection and alerting systems are already available on the market. Their disadvantage is that they react to all objects moving within their field of view. This results in a large number of “false” alarms. The result of such an excess of stimuli is that operators stop paying attention to the signal, which keeps activating “for no reason”.
How can Thermosafety be used in areas with limited visibility or pedestrian/forklift intersections?
The Thermosafety system would detect a pedestrian in an exact zone. Being insensitive to other moving elements (machinery, forklifts, pallets, etc.), it would not trigger false alarms. Thus, a forklift operator hearing an alarm is sure that there is a person in the zone he cannot see. He must then slow down or stop.
