Machine Safety & Guarding

Interlocks, light curtains, E-stops and safety relays — categories, performance levels and correct application.

Safety Contactors: Mirror and Force-Guided Contacts

A safety contactor's auxiliary contacts are linked to its main contacts, so a safety relay can see a weld. Mirror vs force-guided, and how to replace one.

October 21, 2026

Safety Laser Scanners: How They Work and Fit

A safety laser scanner detects people in a flat zone using pulsed light. Protective vs warning fields, response time, stopping distance and testing.

October 9, 2026

Cable-Pull Safety Switches: Rope Pull Explained

A cable-pull switch is an emergency stop you can reach anywhere along a rope. How they work, rope tension and sag, latching reset and inspection.

October 9, 2026

Safety Mats and Safety Edges Explained

Pressure-sensitive safety devices stop a machine when someone steps on a mat or touches an edge. Monitoring, response time, mounting and where they fail.

October 9, 2026

Machine Guarding Walk-Through Checklist

A practical machine guarding walk-through: fixed guards, interlocks, light curtains, e-stops, lockout points, bypass checks and how to record findings.

October 9, 2026

What Is a Two-Hand Control and When Is It Needed

A two-hand control makes an operator keep both hands on separate buttons to start a hazardous motion. How it works, its types, and what to check.

October 8, 2026

What Is an Emergency Stop Button and How It Works

An emergency stop is a red mushroom-head button that halts hazardous motion fast. How it works, what the standards expect, and what to check when choosing one.

October 5, 2026

Class II Division 1: Combustible Dust Locations

Class II Division 1 describes locations with combustible dust under normal conditions. What the groups mean and how Division 1 equipment is protected.

October 1, 2026

Safety Interlock Switch Types and Defeat Resistance

A practical reference on guard interlocking devices, covering tongue, hinge, magnetic, RFID-coded, and guard-locking switches, plus defeat resistance.

August 11, 2026

Safety Light Curtains: Resolution and Safe Distance

Light curtain specification hinges on resolution and safe distance. Selecting the wrong detection capability or guessing stopping time removes the physical.

August 11, 2026

Emergency Stop Devices: Requirements and Categories

A technical reference on E-stop categories, mandatory device characteristics, rope-pull switches, and the distinction between emergency stop and safe isolation.

August 11, 2026

Safety Relay or Safety Controller: A Selection Reference

Choosing between hardwired safety relays and configurable safety controllers requires evaluating function count, diagnostic needs, and logic complexity, not.

August 11, 2026

Reading Performance Level and SIL on a Safety Component

Learn how ISO 13849 Performance Levels and IEC 62061 Safety Integrity Levels relate, and how to interpret PL, SIL, B10d and MTTFd for safety components.

August 11, 2026

Fixed Guarding: Openings, Reach Distances and Materials

A practical guide to sizing openings, evaluating reach zones, and choosing mesh, polycarbonate or steel sheet for permanent machine guards.

August 11, 2026

Lockout/Tagout Hardware: A Practical Reference

A concise guide to selecting and applying LOTO hardware, covering padlocks, hasps, valve and disconnect lockouts, and the energy‑isolation principles behind.

August 11, 2026