PLASTICS Releases New Safety Standard for Robotics and Injection Molding
New standard establishes guidelines for the design, implementation, set-up, operation, maintenance and modification of robots in use with injection molding machine systems.
The Plastics Industry Association’s (PLASTICS) Machinery Safety Standards Committee published a new American National Standards Institute (ANSI) accredited safety standard: Safety Requirements for Robot/Injection Molding Machine Systems (ANSI B151.27-2021) on March 21, 2021.
In a release, Tony Radoszewski, PLASTICS CEO pointed to the importance of the association’s ongoing relationship with ANSI and the paramount importance of safety for the industry. “Protecting equipment operators and preserving the integrity of the machinery they depend on for their livelihoods is an essential part of the PLASTICS’ mission,” Radoszewski said.
The safety requirements are the product of a two-year collaboration among 46 voting members of the PLASTICS Machinery Safety Standards Committee, which represents a broad cross section of the industry.
Jennifer Jones, director of industry standards for PLASTICS, said the standard is a timely response to the increasing integration of molding machines and robots. “ANSI B151.27-2021 serves to guide the user through the complexity of merging plastics and robot technologies, and the corresponding safety standards for those machine systems,” Jones said.
Duane Royce, VP of Robots and Automation for Wittman Battenfeld and chairman of the workgroup that produced the standard noted the importance of the standard and praised the committee members who collaborated to produce it. “Without the involvement of these volunteers, the important work of standards creation and refinement cannot happen,” Royce said.
Robots in production at Wittmann Battenfeld’s facility in Torrington, Conn.—the new ANSI standard addresses safety issues around the integration of robotics and injection molding machines.
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