3020 – 12 – Feeding & Ejecting Safeguards
In everyday cutting operations, workers need to put stock on machines and take it off when the cutting process is finished. This hazardous action can be made safer by safeguarding the feeding and ejecting method. There are two ways manufacturers safeguard the feeding and ejecting process:
The best safeguarding methods prevent workers hands from ever going near dangerous parts of the machine. This is easier with large stock pieces, as the worker can stand far away as they feed it into the machine, but smaller stock requires a push stock or industrial tongs to feed it safely into the machine.
Some manufacturing machinery has automatic or semi-automatic feeds. These allow workers to feed stock into the machine using rollers or chutes. Once processed, the workpiece is ejected into a bin. Other shops use robotic arms or robots to perform feed procedures.
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1. Question
Considering interaction with the point of operation, what is safer, automatic feeding or manual feeding?