Photoelectric sensors raise packaging machine safety

An automated safety solution to solve a common problem on packaging machines has been developed by industrial safety specialist Sick.

The company’s Safeguard Detector Core protects operators from being injured if they reach in to refill an empty or nearly empty carton magazine while the machine is still running.

“Sick has combined its expertise in sensing and safety technologies to tackle an all-too-common problem: a machine operator is protected from being injured as long as the magazine contains material. That protection is gone as soon as the magazine is empty,” says Sick UK safety specialist Dr Martin Kidman.

“There is a risk that operators may look to avoid stopping the machine, because of the consequent downtime and loss of work flow, and reach into the empty mechanism while easily defeating any safety system, if one even exists.”

With the Sick Safeguard Detector, a warning alarm is triggered when the minimum material fill level is reached and the machine shuts off automatically when the magazine is critically low or empty.

The device is claimed to be easy to retrofit into existing machinery.

Contact Sick (UK) for more information.