Water-intrusion protection, glass mover and SIL-certified controllers look to enhance safety.
Water-Intrusion Protection for Concrete Pits
CGI (Concrete Gel Injection®) Northeast, Inc., based in New York City, offers a system designed to eliminate water intrusion into areas such as elevator pits.
Developed in 2004, the CGI system entails drilling holes and injecting a two-component hydrophilic resin-gel from the interior side. Drilling does not extend to the exterior side to form a curtain wall, since that would compromise any previously installed waterproofing membrane and allow additional unwanted water to enter. Once drilling is performed to a certain depth, resin forms a flexible gel seal through the chemical process of polymerization. When this process occurs, the gel does not expand like foam; it simply occupies the crack or cold joint to its full depth.
Benefits include being:
- Flexible to vibrations/movements
- Less costly than other methods
- Easy to clean with water; no solvents needed
- Averse to fungi, mold and bacteria growth
- Environmentally safe, nontoxic and nonflammable
- Able to mix and coexist with water that contains oil, salt and/or sewage
Glass Manipulator
Robo-Glass can be used to handle and install heavy, awkward elevator cab glass by working inside the cab. Intended to eliminate manual lifting, moving and maneuvering in the tight, restricted confines of modern elevator cabs, the product is an eight-axis, semi-robotic manipulator. Its zero-turn power drive allows lifting of the glass from vertical or horizontal positions. It can then be moved under power through the main door and installed into rear, side or skylight positions. Its controls are joysticks on a wired pendant console.
Proportional electronics automatically compensate for the weight of the glass. Solid-state electronics control and monitor its eight manipulator functions. Linear actuators and servo motors replace worker muscle, and the two-motor differential steering can place the machine into the ideal position to install or remove windows and skylights. Robo-Glass is available for 300- and 600-lb. capacities.
www.AutoWildint.com
SIL 3-Certified Industrial Controllers
Toshiba Corp. has announced that its Unified Controller nv-safety Series type1s industrial controller range has received IEC 61508 (2010) (SIL 3) certification for functional safety from German international certification organization TÜV SÜD. Toshiba’s new controllers support functional safety and shift user systems from operation mode to safety mode in the event of an accident, reducing the risk of danger. The company states that if used in combination with other certificated safety devices, such as emergency shutdown systems and electric locks, they can raise the level of functional safety.
IEC 61508 is the basic international standard defining functional safety requirements for equipment and environments, including elevators. Its guidelines define three safety integrity levels (SILs) for evaluating product and safety functions, with SIL 3 as the highest for factory automation systems.
www.toshiba.co.jp 🌐
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