Guards on grinding machines are particularly important for ensuring operator safety. Grinding wheels seldom burst, but when they do, there is a great risk of serious injury to the machine operator. Recent studies suggest, however, that the enclosures commonly used in gear grinding machines, for example, could be overdesigned at present. Investigations conducted by the VDW (Verein Deutscher Werkzeugmaschinenfabriken – German Machine Tool Builders' Association) and the Institute of Machine Tools and Factory Management (IWF) at TU Berlin reveal that it is possible to use safety guards which are up to 70% thinner, depending on the width of the grinding wheel. These findings are leading to changes in ISO standardization.
Imported from the CTE archive to seed discussion on MFGAxis.
Originally published on CTE: 2020-03-19
CTE source: https://ctemag.com/news/are-grinding-machine-safety-guards-overdesigned/
Legacy path: /are-grinding-machine-safety-guards-overdesigned