Analyze the dangerous areas of the equipment
Near moving parts: For equipment with moving parts such as robotic arms, conveyor belts, punch heads, and cutters, safety light curtains are usually installed around these moving parts. For example, in a stamping machine, the punch head has a huge impact force during the up and down movement. The safety light curtain should be installed in front of and on both sides of the punch head to prevent the operator's hands or other parts of the body from entering the stamping area. The protection area is the space surrounded by the light curtain with the punch head as the center, which can detect the human body entering. Generally speaking, this range should cover the dangerous space that may be involved in the stamping operation, including the loading and unloading area and the mold.
Material import and export: In logistics transportation equipment such as conveyor belts in automated warehouses, AGV (automatic guided vehicle) channels, etc., safety light curtains are installed on both sides of the material import and export. Taking the AGV trolley channel as an example, the light curtain is installed at the edge of the channel, and the protection area is the cross-section of the channel and the space around the AGV trolley that may be close to people when loading and unloading goods. This can prevent people from being pinched or hit by equipment during the material entry and exit process.
Equipment operation interface: For some equipment that requires manual operation of control buttons or parameter settings, such as CNC machine tools and injection molding machines, the safety light curtain is installed in front of the operation interface. The protection area is the space that the operator may enter when operating the equipment, including the area where the operation buttons are located and in front of the position where the operator may stand, to prevent the operator from accidentally contacting the dangerous parts of the equipment due to actions such as leaning forward during operation.
Consider the operation process and range of activities of the personnel
Operation posture and action: If the operator needs to frequently bend over, reach out or turn sideways to operate, the installation position and protection area of the safety light curtain should adapt to these actions. For example, in the electronic equipment assembly production line, workers may need to bend over to put parts into the equipment. The safety light curtain should be installed at a lower position and the protection area should cover the space that the worker may enter when bending over, including the opening part of the equipment and the area where the worker's hands move.
Personnel walking path: In the workshop or workplace, personnel will have a certain walking path to complete work tasks, such as moving materials from the raw material area to the processing equipment, and then moving the finished products to the finished product area. The installation of the safety light curtain should take these paths into consideration to prevent personnel from accidentally entering the dangerous area during normal movement. The determination of the protection area should include the intersection of these possible walking routes and the equipment's dangerous area. For example, in a workshop with large-scale automated equipment, the safety light curtain protection area around the equipment should extend to the transition area between the personnel channel and the equipment to ensure that personnel will not be harmed when passing through the equipment.
Combined with the working environment and space limitations
Space layout: If the workplace space is small, the installation location of the safety light curtain may need to be more compact. For example, in some small mechanical processing workshops, the distance between the equipment is close, and the safety light curtain should be installed in a position where the space can be reasonably used between the equipment. The protection area will also be limited by space and more accurately defined in a small range of space where danger may occur. At the same time, the interference of other equipment or obstacles on the light curtain signal should also be considered to avoid false triggering or signal shielding.
Environmental factors: In harsh working environments such as humid, dusty, and high-temperature environments, the installation location of the safety light curtain should try to avoid the influence of these adverse factors. For example, in a foundry workshop, there is a lot of high temperature and dust. The safety light curtain may be installed in a position away from high temperature sources such as furnaces and dust sources. The protection area is determined according to the actual dangerous area of the equipment and the range of personnel activities. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure that the sensor of the light curtain can work normally and is not damaged by dust and high temperature.
