Machine Building

How to specify IP ratings for enclosures

Schneider Electric believes that a lack of understanding of IP ratings is leading to enclosures being specified with inappropriate levels of protection. Moreover, some IP ratings do not conform to international standards and are not relevant to the intended use of the products to which they have been applied.

25th July 2010

What does 'as low as reasonably practicable' mean?

Jeremy Procter, a Member of BSI's MCE/3 committee, former Convenor of the European Standards Committee responsible for Machine Guards (CEN TC114 WG11), and Managing Director of Procter Machine Guarding, explains what is meant by machine risks being 'as low as reasonably practicable.'

24th July 2010

Low-cost controlgear products may not be a good investment

GAMBICA explains why machine builders should be very wary of using low-cost controlgear or products that are described as 'equivalent to' or 'interchangeable with' those from leading brands.

19th July 2010

EN ISO 11161 - Safe design of Integrated Manufacturing Systems

Robin Carver* introduces EN ISO 11161, which is the standard for assemblies of machinery, and goes on to outline its contents and describe its relationship to the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC and other machinery safety standards.

22nd June 2010

EN ISO 13849-1:2008 and its errors and omissions

Robin Carver, a machinery safety consultant and BSI committee member*, explains why he thinks that EN ISO 13849-1:2008 is confusing, contains errors and is of little practical use.

15th June 2010

BS EN ISO 13855:2010 and BS EN 999:1998+A1:2008 compared

Jon Severn, editor of MachineBuilding.net, compares the newly published BS EN ISO 13855:2010, ' Safety of machinery - Positioning of safeguards with respect to the approach speeds of parts of the human body,' with the standard it replaces, BS EN 999:1998+A1:2008 (other EN versions of these standards will show the same differences).

28th May 2010

The benefits of a holistic approach to plant maintenance

Phil Burge, Marketing Manager at SKF, explains how a holistic approach to plant maintenance can have a significant impact on productivity and profitability.

20th May 2010

Benefits of condition monitoring in hydraulic systems

Parker Hannifin's European Hydraulic Filter Division offers the following advice on condition monitoring in hydraulic systems.

20th May 2010

The end of support for Windows 2000 in industrial automation

Microsoft Extended Support and Security Updates for Windows 2000 will cease in July 2010. Migrating to a new operating system can be time-consuming, disruptive and expensive, so Torsten Rössel presents an alternative.

22nd April 2010

How to choose non-contact displacement sensors

Chris Jones, Managing Director of Micro-Epsilon UK & Ireland Ltd, discusses four types of non-contact displacement measurement technology, presenting the advantages and disadvantages of each.

15th April 2010