Press Safety-Sitema  Gravity Fall Protection Devices

Safety on Hydraulic Presses

Safety Catchers In Use On a Hydraulic Press
Applications of Sitema Products
Product List

According to the prevailing accident prevention rules, hydraulic presses above a certain size must be equipped with a special safety device. They have to have a mechanical unit that prevents the lowering of the slide due to hydraulic failure in a power-off situation. This report presents the SITEMA safety catcher which secures the load of the slide directly to the shaft, with an infinitely variable connection and without a ratchet.

Conventional devices fitted to hydraulic presses such as locking bolts or latches often operate only at the top or at a few more positions. Consequently, for safety reasons, the slide often has to cover the full stroke, although the actual production process requires only a smaller opening-stroke. Furthermore, form-fitting systems have a safety gap in cases of power failure or emergency stop because during the movement (except at the few latch positions) no locking is possible.

To avoid these obvious disadvantages SITEMA safety catchers have>been widely and successfully used for several years. These safety catchers prevent the load from crashing down at any stage of ascent; mechanically safe and absolutely reliable without a ratchet.

This high safety standard in combination with improvements in productivity is achieved through the following characteristics:

See a flash demo of a Safety Catcher in use on a press.

• The load is supported by a non-positive connection directly on the cylinder rod or on a separate holding shaft.

• The SITEMA safety catcher will damp without a ratchet, so that a safe clamping condition is attained through the entire stroke. Furthermore, a productivity increase is offered as the actual stroke can be limited to the length that is absolutely necessity.

• The damping system is held open by hydraulic or pneumatic means. When pressure drops, the load is immediately secured.

• The energy of the falling or sinking load itself is used to generate the damping force. This in fact only happens if the load starts to move downward from the secured position (when the safety catcher is without pressure). In this case the load will be securely stopped after falling a few millimeters with help of the self-intensifying clamping movement.

• Braking operations from any speed level are no problem. Usually a deceleration of 1 to 3 g (acceleration due to gravity) is achieved. The resulting braking distance is not more than a few centimeters.

Sitema manufactures more than just Safety Catchers for press brakes. Their products also include Safety Locks and Locking Units. These products can be used in a variety of applications. You can see some examples on the Sitema Applications page. To learn more about the products, follow the links below or in the menu (left).

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