A significant number of used power presses have entered the used equipment market as a result of bankruptcies and plant closures. As a result, manufacturersrequiring additional press capacity or those looking to replace broken equipment are more often looking to the used equipment market as a bargain source for their needs. Much of this equipment have safety systems that are suspect and out of compliance with OSHA and ANSI standards. Buyers often fail to properly evaluate the safety systems and incur significant unexpected pos tpurchase costs to upgrade the presses. When considering the purchase of a used press, it’s important to carefully evaluate the clutch/brake control system so you can budget properly. Operator safety, OSHA 910.217 compliance, ANSI compliance, operational efficiency, and cost are all major considerations. To complicate matters ANSI is about to release its latest rewrite of ANSI B11.1 safety requirements for mechanical power presses. There is some rumor that OSHA may adopt some or all of the new and more stringent ANSI language.
OSHA compliance is not the only issue or objective in evaluating the clutch/brake control. The buyer needs to consider all the intended applications for the machine. Factors to consider: Available operating modes-off/inch/single/continuous are fairly standard; however, automatic single stroke, continuous on demand, or multiple operators pulsed fiber laser welding system may be required. Visual displays, operator interfaces, and automation options are also elements of the clutch/brake control that affect overall safety and productivity. Do you need automatic shut height control, counterbalance control, tonnage monitors, automatic speed control, programmable limit switches and die protection?
There are some simple items a potential buyer can look for to determine basic OSHA compliance:
Press electrical schematic donated after June 1974.
Air pressure switches for clutch and counterbalance.
Supervisory control of mode and stroke selection.
Red emergency stop and Yellow top stop.
Two-hand control with anti-tie down provision.
Continuous prior action function (automatic presses).
Control reliability-single component failure safe response
Brake monitoring for hands in die operations.
Dual safety valve for (hands in die operations).
For More information on Compliance industrial machinery manufacturing companies use these resources:
OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration)
ANSI (American National Standards Institute)
