What is the most acceptable means to guard a nip point when employing electrical apparatus, a light curtain, safety limit switches with a hard guard, or a safety mat?
The decision for which type of guarding to be used in based on a number of criteria, at the nip point, for example if access to the area around the nip point is required say during maintenance or normal operation fo the machine then a hard guard would be a hinderance in this case. If a light curtain is considered then the safety distance shall be calculated for the mounting distance of the curtain, this would be acceptable if there is a large space around the machine is readily available and the speed of the machine is not too fast. As for a safety mat care must be taken that the area being protected is not a walkway as there will a considerable amount of nuisance tripping, also if say a fork lift or such were to travel over the mat, it would be in-operable.
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