Safety in compression
Coil springs can be dangerous as Butts of Bawtry explain
Published: 27 November, 2015
A vehicle coil spring is a dangerous object in its compressed state. Coil Spring compressors have to develop over 1000 kilos of force to compress a spring, while the same amount of energy is contained in the spring itself. If released in an unrestrained way it can be very dangerous.
Vehicle workshops have a duty of care to protect staff and to ensure that they have the right tools to undertake the tasks required of them. It is not sensible to allow staff to work on coil springs without a safe method of compression.
The Semad ‘Simply’ range of coil spring compressors available from Butts of Bawtry offer workshops a range of spring compressors which all feature the same four safety features for maximum operator protection.
To safely compress a coil spring the spring must be correctly loaded in the machine. The Simply achieves this with a set of patented ‘claws’, which can be perfectly positioned to hold the spring in place. Using a safety cable that engages in the spring coils will prevent a spring ever leaving the compressor in the event that is was not correctly loaded. The robust triple bar protection cage provides further safety beyond that offered by the safety cable. The machine will not operate unless the cage is lowered and locked into place.
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