Posted to News on 24th Jun 2014, 14:26
Training course: Pneumatic Safety for Design Engineers
Festo is promoting its Pneumatic Safety for Design Engineers training course, which is aimed at design engineers and managers who require a deeper understanding of the safe application of pneumatics in relation to the requirements for the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC and associated standards such as EN ISO 13849-1 (BS EN ISO 13849-1 in the UK).
Bob Jackson, the Safety Applications Manager at Festo who runs the two-day workshops, comments: "Generally courses about safety and the Machinery Directive tend to look more into the electrical and electronic issues that can arise and neglect the pneumatics element. Plugging this skills gap, this course addresses good practise and safety standards relating to pneumatic and mechanical systems, focussing on specific safety areas around actuator systems and the options available for compliance under the Machinery Directive."
The first day looks at good and safe practise with pneumatics as covered by ISO 4414:2010 Pneumatic fluid power - General rules and safety requirements for systems and their components (BS EN ISO 4414:2010 in the UK), with the second day working through practical examples of how to apply this knowledge and imparting an understanding of the risks and limitations of different pneumatic solutions, paying particular attention to the challenges of ensuring the safe and reliable operation of vertical axes.
Topics covered include:
- Air supply
- Control valves and circuits
- Actuators
- Stopping and holding a cylinder using mechanical and pneumatic methods
- Behaviours of actuators in safety solutions
- Clamping devices
- Circuitry and their usage
Jackson adds: "I believe this course will prove hugely beneficial for engineers wishing to ensure their compliance with the relevant directives by developing their knowledge of this topic through both theory and practical workshops."
The next courses scheduled at Festo's training centre in Northampton take place on 7/8 July, 22/23 September and 27/28 October 2015. Further dates are planned for 2015, and the workshop can also be delivered in-house upon request.
Follow the link for further details or to book a place on Festo's Pneumatic Safety for Design Engineers training course, or telephone +44 (0)1604 667000 and press option '0' (please mention MachineBuilding.net).
