Machine Guards

Machine guards are devices that are used to protect users from a machine. They form a barrier between the user and the machine and thus help prevent any unforeseen accidents. Machine guards are available in many different types, and are generally manufactured for specific applications. For example, machine guards for vertical milling machines will be different in form to machine guards for horizontal milling machines, drilling machines and lathes.

These guards are made to serve several different purposes such as the prevention of small chips of machined material or swarf, from spraying into the air, or to prevent the misuse of the machine by unauthorised persons. Machine guards can be custom made to fit many different types of industrial machinery, and these can include:

Milling & CNC Milling machines, Lathes & CNC Lathes, Grinding machines, Drilling machines.

Along with many other different types of machinery…

As already mentioned, there are many ways to safeguard machines, and many different aspects to consider. For example:

Type of operation, Size & shape of stock & and type of materials, Handling method, Layout of work area, Production requirements.

Consideration of these requirements will help to determine the appropriate method of safeguarding a particular machine, and the most effective and practical method should always be chosen.

Safeguards can be grouped into five general classifications, and these are :

Guards, Devices, Gates, Location & distance, Feeding & Ejection methods, Miscellaneous aids.

Guards are barriers which prevent access to danger areas, and a fixed guard is a permanent part of the machine. It can be constructed from plastic, bars, sheet metal, wire or any other material that can withstand any impact it may endure while in use. Other types of machine guard can include adjustable guard, self adjusting guard and interlocking guard.

Severed fingers, crushed arms and hands, blindness, can be the result of bad work practice, and safeguards are essential for protection against such needless injuries.