Safety first for electric axis bending machine

17 September 2013

Siemens Industry’s Safety Services team has supported AddisonMckee, a manufacturer of tube bending and end forming technologies through the development and launch of a new electric axis bending machine by offering a comprehensive safety assessment, consultancy and validation process.

AddisonMckee’s recently launched eB80 ESRB model machine is designed primarily for supply into the automotive industry as an alternative option to the company’s existing DB 75 machine.

An integral element of the machine’s development was the requirement to ensure it would comply with all necessary standards and legislation concerning safety. To help validate this, the company worked alongside Siemens Safety Services team to access independent support, advice and consultancy for all relevant safety-related issues.

John Inskip, product specialist, Drive Technologies at Siemens Industry, said: “Safety is obviously a central concern when looking to develop a new machine as in the case of AddisonMckee’s new electric axis bending machine. Our Safety Services team was able to work alongside the management team through all the initial evaluation stages and based upon the findings from the Siemens Safety Evaluation Tool was able to clearly identify and validate where and how the new machine could meet all the required safety standards. These recommendations and clear assessments enabled AddisonMckee’s engineering team to progress the new machine’s design and development safe in the knowledge that all safety issues had been covered.”

As a result of the assessment process, the new electric axis bending machine is also benefitting from enhanced protection due to the specification of a Siemens Industry SINAMICS S120 motion control drive system with integrated safety functionality. It safety integrated technology benefits are said to provide a flexible safety system with a reduction in the requirement for additional hardware normally associated with safety technology. A thorough evaluation of all the mechanical, electrical and global safety standards has enabled the rationalisation of the latest components for the new machine.

John Inskip concludes: “The combination of the expertise and support offered by our Safety Services Team, alongside the SINAMICS drive technology, ensured AddisonMckee was able to launch a high performance tube bending machine that also benefits from in-built safety system functionality to address its current and future needs.”


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