production management
Automatic fire extinguishers are fitted as standard by many of Europe’s leading machine tool
companies; a major supplier has now developed a new range of systems specifically designed to
protect all types of machine tools.
Fighting machine tool fires
WORKING closely with the German
Health & Safety executive and with the
support of leading machine tool
manufacturers, Kraft and Bauer has
carried out a number of controlled tests
to establish exactly what happens when
machine tools catch fire, in order to
arrive at the fastest and safest systems to
extinguish them. The major application
of K&B’s fire extinguisher systems is
the protection of grinding machines.
However, many of the company’s
products are found protecting
machining centres and turning
machines from well known
manufacturers such as Citizen, Index,
Star, Tornos, and Traub. There are now
some 17,000 K&B systems protecting
machine tools in Germany alone.
Kraft & Bauer specialises in systems
for machine tools. All are IP55 certified
against ingress of coolant, and offer
various options including fire detection
via Infra Red (IR) temperature radiation
detectors and Ultra Violet (UV) sensors
as well as the most basic of the usual
temperature based detection methods.
As standard, CO2 (or Argon) bottles of
The cost of
retrofitting a
system is low
compared with the
cost of a machine -
and the possible
consequences of
stopped
production
various sizes from 2kg to 20Kg may be
fitted; for the very largest machine tools
more than one can be used to ensure
total protection.
Initial detection and automatic
activation of the fire security systems is
catered for by IR or UV sensors (or in
some cases a combination of both) with
instant reaction times of under a second
being possible. In the case of the fastest
UV radiation sensors that operate
within a wave range of 185-260nm, a
short activation check of between 1-2
seconds is usually set to avoid systems
being accidentally set off by flash-light
photography etc. Automatic secondary
back-up fire detection is then catered
for by temperature sensors set to
between 30 o and 140 o that are integrated
into the machine cabinets - usually
adjacent to a mist extraction point that
would draw flames in the event of a
fire. A further means of detection is
visual by an operator; and manual
system activation is always possible by
using emergency button switches
mounted to the front of the machines,
or by pulling the emergency toggle pins
mounted onto the systems themselves.
When a fire is detected the machine
tool is automatically shut down and the
fire extinguished before any major
damage can occur. Warning to operators
is taken care of by both high powered
125db acoustic sirens and high visibility
warning lights mounted on the top of
the machine. It is often the case that
machines can be back in action within
minutes of an incident occurring. The
latest micro-processor technology is
employed along with self contained
emergency power supply back-up
devices to ensure that even in the event
of loss of electrical power the fire
22 MWP january 2008
protection systems can still function. A
further recent development is the use of
fully automated Co2 cylinder check
systems to ensure that machines cannot
be ran if a bottle is empty.
Kraft & Bauer UK offers a full sales,
service and installation facility from its
base in Coventry, and systems can be
fitted to new machine tools or to any
existing machine of any type as a full
retrofit service is also offered.
Louise Boraston, Managing Director
of Kraft & Bauer UK comments: ‘It is
remarkable that despite Health & Safety
requirements, and the very high cost of
replacing machine tools, there are still
many thousands of machines in use in
the UK without adequate fire protection
systems in place. Often engineering
companies don’t take into account the
affect of a single fire on a machine can
have on production and that it is not
only highly dangerous to operators it
can also easily result in the loss of the
machine, a complete production line, or
even the entire factory.
‘The cost of retrofitting a Kraft &
Bauer system is very minor as compared
with the cost of a machine and the risk
to companies that would almost
certainly lose valuable contracts if they
were unable to supply product to their
customers in the event of production
lines being stopped due to fires is very
high indeed. Although many large
machine tool companies such as
Tornos and Walter are heavily safety
conscious and are offering Kraft &
Bauer fire protection systems as
standard fitment on their machines,
there are many older machines out
there of all types, without any
protection at all.’
www.kraftandbauer.co.uk
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