Workplace safety is a major concern for Haas and other the makers of CNC manufacturing equipment. We equip our machine tools with various safety components that prevent users from accessing critical areas while the machine is operating. Likewise, many loading and unloading systems employ safety cages with access doors that are locked during machining cycles, light curtains that stop machine activity when the beam is interrupted, and other safety precautions.
Obviously the most important reason to include these safety measures is to protect the machine operator and others from serious injury. Additionally, federal (OSHA) and state regulatory agencies require safety devices, and for good reason. In the days before such measures were common, machinists could be seriously injured due to fatigue, distraction or carelessness while operating easily accessible equipment. These incidents often caused debilitating harm including loss of limbs and, sometimes, lives.
In line with this concern for worker safety, Haas technical service professionals insure that all safety mechanisms operate properly on the machine tools they install or service. Haas will even conduct a no-cost safety inspection at your request to insure that all safety components operate properly. Unfortunately, workers sometimes modify machines to circumvent the factory installed safety devices.
Typically the machine operators make these attempts to defeat the safety locks so they can access the machine tool while it is in motion to fine-tune setups, tooling offsets or other adjustments. Considering that modern machine tools move very quickly in multiple directions and often incorporate automatic tool changers and other accessories that also move inside the machine, it’s very easy to become injured or to damage the machine or work piece by attempting to make adjustments while any part of the machine is operating.
In fact none of this tampering with safety devices is necessary. In some cases, operators simply need to be trained to properly handle these issues without resorting to defeating the safety measures built into the machine tools. There are also abundant accessories and software solutions available that can perform these adjustments inside the machine tool without placing the operator in harms way.
Want a free Haas machine safety inspection? Simply contact your Torrance Haas Factory Outlet by calling (310) 381-0750, email: jphillips@haasfactoryoutlet.com, or visit www.haasfactoryoutlet.com.