New AKAS 3 Press Brake Laser Light Guard

10 Year Safety Systems for press brakes  – AKAS®- from Fiessler Elektronik

The new AKAS®-3 will be displayed during the Fabtech International 2007 Show in Chicago

The main feature of a Press Brake is to move a tool, usually the upper tool or the bending punch. It moves toward a fixed tool (V-die) which sits on top of the bottom bed of the press, consequently bending the metal sheet placed between them. The freely accessible bending area of a press brake represents a major risk of operators getting seriously injured by accidents, such as the injury or the loss of fingers or hands, which are frequently the consequences of accidents that happen at press brakes. Therefore all applicable standards and accident preventing regulations stipulate the use of safety measures or accident preventing measures at press brakes.

In order to prevent accidents, Fiessler Elektronik in Esslingen/Germany has developed the AKAS 3 patented press brake protection system for Original Equipment Manufacturers.

The aim and object of this innovative finger protection device for press brakes is: the prevention of a finger or hand being squeezed between the punch and the inserted sheet metal. This is realized by the optical safety light grid which safeguards the area beneath or in front of the tool. The dangerous movement is stopped as soon as a part of the body reaches into the safety light grid.

Transmitter and receiver are combined securely to the ram of the machine and form a laser-optical safety light grid which is located in front of the bending punch and which moves simultaneously with the ram. When a certain clearance between the tip of the tool and the metal sheet is reached, the machine control issues a muting command to the receiver element. At this point, the closing speed is reduced. For an effective protection of the operators even during slow speed, still more receiver elements are active. Only at the point where reaching into the gap between the tool tip and the metal sheet is made impossible, the protective function of the unit is no longer required. The bending procedure is now completed despite all beams being interrupted. With the laser-optical safety light grid, the hands remain free for handling the sheet metal during the operation under continuous protection of the extremities for the entire bending process.