Assessing The Safety Of Magnetic Workholding

Izvor: KiWi

Resistance to the implementation of magnetic work holding ordinarily begins with a concern for safety. These concerns may be allayed by assessing the technology, holding power and optimal operating conditions of magnetic work holding in terms of operational safety.

Despite the competitive more info added benefits of magnetic workholding in decreasing costs and improving productivity, there nonetheless exists a resistance for the implementation of magnetic technology because the primary perform holder in machining operations. This resistance normally begins using a concern for safety. By assessing the technologies, holding power and optimal operating conditions of magnetic operate holding relative to operational security, these concerns is often allayed.

Magnetic Perform Holding as a Protected Technology

If a machine operator has held workpieces with mechanical clamps for decades, the concept of relying on magnetism to hold workpieces, especially in heavy milling operations, boils down to an issue of trust: Is this truly protected? Whilst understandable this opinion is rooted in subjectivity not objective fact. More than likely, people that hold this point of view may not totally recognize the facts of how protected magnetic function holding is.

So, how can magnetic perform holding be viewed as as a protected technologies? By definition, it produces a uniform, consistent, and infinite holding energy that doesn't unwind, give, or lower until an operator de-energizes it.

Generally, magnetic function holders are constructed with an array of person magnets embedded into a magnetic chuck or plate. Each magnet has a north and south pole across which flows magnetic power named flux. When a workpiece is placed across the poles of these magnets, flux flows into it. When placed in this flux field, a magnetic field of opposite polarity is induced into the workpiece thereby making a magnetic attraction involving the chuck plus the workpiece. This attraction will stay consistent, uniform, infinite, and reliable as long as the magnetic field is energized. This reliability makes magnetic workholding a truly secure technologies.

Magnetic Operate Holding as a Secure Holding Force

Holding energy or strength is a further element considered when forming an opinion regarding the security of magnetic workholding. If an operator doesn't understand how robust magnetic workholding is, he may mistakenly believe magnetic technology is just not powerful adequate to perform the job safely. This opinion is often allayed by two details:

(1) magnetic workholding can possess a clamping power up to 1000 daN and

(2) based upon the application, an instantaneous clamping force of 12 tons per square foot may be generated by magnetic workholders. This level of holding force is more than comparable to mechanical clamps with one particular further advantage: magnetic holding force is uniform, continual and infinite until the operator de-energizes it.

Optimal Operating Situations

To implement magnetic work holding options may well require some coaching to know the technology's optimal operating conditions. By way of example, magnetic function holding is finest used with smooth-surfaced workpieces as an alternative to rough ones because the smoothness decreases the air gap amongst the workpiece and the magnet; smaller air gaps boost magnetic attraction along with the holding bond. Some components are superior conductors of magnetism than other individuals. By way of example, annealed supplies are perfect while hardened components never absorb flux as simply and will retain some magnetism. This condition may be corrected within seconds with demagnetization. Lastly, the direction with the holding force is however an additional adjustment an operator might have to make to safely implement magnetic function holding. All magnets have one hundred percent clamping force directly away in the face in the magnet, but only about 20 % clamping force against side forces. So, the geometry of a reduce has to be thought of within the machining process to reap the benefits of this sort of workholding.