The lack of effective protection on industrial machines is a leading safety concern, ranking among the top ten most frequently cited violations by OSHA, and one that puts thousands of operators at risk for catastrophic injuries.
Metal lathes are dangerous machines that can cause serious injury. Of the lathe’s many dangers, the life-threatening hazard of entanglement can cause amputations, dismemberment and death. Entanglement is a risk whenever lathe operators use emery paper to sand or polish a rotating shaft. Without warning, the paper may wrap itself around the shaft, entangling the operator’s gloved hand, hair or loose clothing at over 1000 RPM.
As part of its ongoing commitment to empower organizations to create safer work environments and comply with OSHA standards, Rockford Systems LLC. has introduced an automatic sanding belt holder that enables lathe operators to sand, polish and debur while keeping hands away from rotating parts and at safe operating distance away from the spinning shaft and, thereby, helping to prevent entanglement.
Simple to install and use, the belt holder fixes to conventional lathes’ existing tool-case turrets with the quick turn of a screw. An automated patented sliding system leverages the rotating movement of the workpiece, whether it is metal, alloy or wood, for precise results. Three unique opening positions enable the belt holder to sand machined parts of a wide variety of diameters to maximize its shop floor value while eliminating risk.
The belt holder is available in 25mm and 50mm width models. Both models can hold sanding belts of different sizes and abrasion grits (80/150/180/220/320) to satisfy a wide range of applications.
Lathe-related injuries are preventable and Rockford Systems as been at the forefront of developing products and services that help keep workers safe. Along with its new sanding belt holder, it offers lathe shielding, eStops, wrenches, motor starters, emergency lighting and more.
About Rockford Systems, LLC
Headquartered in Rockford, Illinois, Rockford Systems, LLC delivers trusted machine safeguarding solutions for organizations working with industrial machinery. As a trusted adviser since 1971, Rockford Systems helps organizations interpret and apply complex Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) machine safety standards for a broad array of industrial applications. In addition, Rockford Systems provides complete Turnkey Machine Safety Solutions, including machine safeguarding assessments, machine risk assessments, customized build-to-spec integration, over 10,000 safeguarding products, expert installation services, training and technical support, and ongoing compliance validation. Rockford Systems has improved the profitability of many of North America’s largest companies by increasing compliance, reducing worker risk, enhancing productivity and decreasing costs.
For more information, visit www.rockfordsystems.com.
