38 Australian Wood Review
TOOLS & EQUIPMENTnot see these machines on sale in the
next one or two years, it’s very exciting
news for the industrial woodworking
sector. The two companies are
Altendorf and Felder, both very well
known also to the small and hobby
woodworker. Both technologies are
different in their approach to the issue
of hand safety, but both are (reportedly)
bloodless in their approach.Altendorf Safety Assistant
The Altendorf solution relies on
detecting the hazard at an earlystage.
Various defined situations are
recognised and classified using
a number of cameras to gather
information about the operator’s
activity. A computer interprets this and
if it detects a hazard, it responds by
warning the user in two stages.Stage one is an optical signal: lights on
the overhead guard. Stage two is the
blade slowing slightly so the operator
is aware of the danger. In stage
three, the main sawblade stops very
quickly and the whole saw unit rapidly
drops beneath the table. There is no
aluminium brake and the saw can be
instantly reset and used normally.The Altendorf Safety Assistant or
ASA is the working title for this
new development. The new system
was shown for the first time at the
German Ligna fair in late May and
there were a lot of exposed cables and
cameras on the prototype. These will
obviously be hidden and miniaturised
by the time the system goes on sale as
an optional accessory.use again at the push of a button. The
technology was actually demonstrated
at Ligna with someone’s real finger!There is no doubt that all these clever
safety systems reduce severe injuries.
A contact system like SawStop will
draw blood but only leave a small
scratch, a small price to pay on a low
cost machine. No doubt Altendorf
and Felder will eventually offer their
technologies on their low end machine
models but this will take many more
years and may add a reasonable
amount to the price of a new machine.What is not clear yet is how this
technology will function in real
working conditions. The SawStop
machine has been known to misfire;
will the cameras and associated
computer systems work on the
Altendorf? Will the built-in Felder
system function as designed? Time
will tell, but if they do what they
are designed to do, your work will be
a lot safer as a result.Suppliers:
SawStop: http://www.carbatec.com.au
Felder Machinery: http://www.felder-group.
com/au-en
Altendorf: http://www.altendorf.com.auThe patent applications have been
filed and the process is under way,
which means realistically the system
will not be available to buy before- It will be interesting to see
if Tooltechnic Systems objects
to either the Altendorf or Felder
developments.
Felder Preventive
Contact System
We are taught that the best safety
is the safety that you cannot see;
the safety that’s actually part of the
machine and Felder Group proved
at Ligna that this is in fact possible.
Five years ago, Felder Group started a
project with the University of Vienna
with Sascha Wein, master joiner and
managing director of the Joiner’s
Trade Guild in Munich. This all came
to fruition at Ligna with a ‘sawstop’
system completely integrated into the
machine. Apart from the name PCS
Stop (Preventive Contact System)
emblazoned on the front cover, you
would never know this saw was one of
the safest machines ever made.When the risk of an accident is
detected, PCS triggers the rapid
lowering of the sawblade under the
machine table. The function, based on
the electro-magnetic law of repulsion,
allows for an extremely short response
time of a few milliseconds. The PCS
safety lowering mechanism works
without damage to the blade, so
like the Altendorf,
there’s no extra cost.
The sliding table
panel saw is ready toFelder’s Preventive Contact
System is based on the
electro-magnetic law of repulsion
and allows for an extremely
short response time of a few
milliseconds. PCS works without
consumable parts as the machine
can be immediately used again.
The Format 4 kappa 550 sliding
table panel saw with PCS will be
available in Australia in early 2020.
Photo: Felder GroupPhilip Ashley lectured in
furniture making and wood
machining skills at Holmesglen
TAFE (Vic) and headed the
department for seven years until
his retirement. He has written extensively
for Australian Wood Review. Email:
[email protected]