Overview
Food processing band saws are extremely dangerous to operate. There are hundreds of amputation cases annually due to how dangerous it is to work so close to an open blade. Our customer and RSI worked together to develop a system that could detect when an operator’s hand or fingers were too close to the blade and stop the blade in order to prevent an accident.
Solution
Hardware
RSI assisted with the selection of the servo system including the motor, drive, and gearhead to achieve the fastest stop time for the application budget. An IP69k servo motor was selected due to the washdown environment and the servo drive had to be rated for harsh environments.
Software
RSI developed an intuitive touchscreen based user interface; enabling operators to startup quickly and maintenance staff to identify and resolve problems with minimal downtime.
The application we developed logs relevant data to an online server for remote diagnostics and data analytics. The data is analyzed alongside other installed machines to determine if a machine is in need of maintenance. The data is also used to identify operators in need of further training which improves worker efficiency.
Vision System
RSI developed the vision system that detects the presence of an operator’s hand to trigger a fast stop before the operator even touches the blade. The vision system is seamlessly integrated with the main user interface that handles all the motion, setup, and configuration.
Gallery
See UI/HMI images below: