Dampers provide safety for lifting guards and hatches

The company was recently contacted by a customer that had suffered two industrial accidents in quick succession, both involving service hatches on production line equipment. In both cases a flap had descended unexpectedly on an arm or hand. A safety mechanism had been misused on one and was simply not present on the second.

Often soft-close stays or hinges using mechanisms like the UDH capsule damper are installed to avoid this problem. Products such as the JH14-50 soft-closing hinge will stop a flap from slamming down from the open position and, in many cases, this is the simplest solution. However, the damper does require priming so, in situations where the hatch is routinely lifted by only a small degree, another approach may be more appropriate.

UDD disc dampers have continuous torque in one direction. They have a different format to capsule dampers so may fit better in some situations than others.

A drop-down flap differs in that, while the danger of trapped limbs or fingers is reduced, a flap descending rapidly can be an impact hazard. The HDS-10 damper has long been a standard soft-down fitting for drop-down flap doors and recently it has had lift-assist added. A hospital in America fits them to foldaway computer keyboard installations; the keyboard drops silently and yet, with a nudge from an elbow (to prevent contaminating sterile hands, for example) will silently close itself.

An S-AT lift-assist stay may not be as glamorous as a soft-down mechanism but it does apply uniform force throughout the movement of the hatch. It has powerful springs to prevent uncontrolled downward movement and also adds to safety by making a heavy hatch much more manageable.

If powerful springs are required then Sugatsune has the HG-JH210 lift-assist hinge. Not only is it 'built like a tank' but it is designed to be fitted to a tank; it can offer up to 210kgf-cm rotational force per unit.

Follow the link for more information about dampers from Sugatsune.