Built-in detection system prevents injury
By detecting an electrical path to earth through the human body, a US invented and manufactured table saw is able to throw down its cutting blade to prevent the possibility of serious injury
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The effectiveness of the safety mechanism was amply demonstrated at this year’s SolidWorks World event by John McEleney, CEO of SolidWorks, who approached the whirling blade of a SawStop table saw with a firmly held hot dog sausage, triggering the dropping of the blade with no more than a scratch on the sausage itself.
In the event of human contact, the path to earth is detected with the help of a DSP chip, upon which a brake engages the gear and momentum carries it down. The system responds in 50 microseconds and time for disengagement represents the passage of only two teeth.
“Sixty thousand people suffered serious injuries last year, incurring $2 billion in medical costs,” says McEleney. To this can be added the 3,000 people who underwent amputations and these figures refer to the US alone.