E-Stop design, manufacture white paper
Staff
Electronics CEL
EAO Switch Corp. has released a white paper on emergency stop switches.
The overview of the technical requirements for E-Stop design and manufacture includes: the definition of an E-Stop by international standards, safety requirements, design considerations (current and future), existing and changing industry standards, and selection criteria for choosing the right E-Stop for a given application. Applications covered include medical diagnostic, semiconductor machinery, and motion control.
Featured in the white paper are the recommended criteria for E-Stop selection regarding your application, including positioning, size, mechanical and electrical specifications, ergonomics, color/legends, and required number of E-Stops. Mr. Godert DeJager, EAO CTO, says: “Customers frequently ask what stop switch they should use? The answer is, it depends. Product developers must have a thorough knowledge of E-stop fundamentals, switch characteristics, and the international standards that apply to their industry.”
“Not all stop switches and E-stops are the same, and different industries have different requirements. It’s important to know your industry.”
Other considerations are heavy usage, footprint, and behind-panel depth.
The paper also highlights EAO’s knowledge of domestic and international standards that apply to E-Stops design. Most EAO E-Stop switches are RoHS and REACH compliant, meet both UL (Underwriters Laboratories) and cUL (Canadian UL) requirements, and are certified by TÜV (Technischer Überwachungsverein, a German safety monitoring agency), SEV (a Swiss designation) and CE (European Union) approval agencies. They also meet a variety of ISO (International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) standards. EAO E-Stops are also listed as UL category NISD emergency stop devices.
About EAO E-Stops
EAO E-Stops are subjected to extensive research, testing, and quality assurance measures. Switch components for actuators and contact blocks are precision molded from the highest quality polymeric materials to ensure a mechanical life that exceeds the ISO requirement of 6,050 operations; in actual situations, EAO E-Stops generally exceed 250,000 operations.
EAO E-Stops are available with a variety of optional features and accessories including illumination, protective rings, special enclosures, switch guards, palm guards, custom labeling, and legend plates.
www.eao.com
