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New Safety Feature Detects Flesh
nmb3000 writes "SawStop has introduced a new safety feature for dangerous power tools such as table and band saws which, if accurate and reliable, could result in a lot fewer people visiting the emergency room due to deadly accidents. Using the difference in electrical capacitance between various substances, the system can stop a blade rotating at 4000 RPM in less than 5 milliseconds after detecting contact with flesh. It's hard to understand just how effective this is until you see the demonstration videos where a hotdog is used in place of a potential victim's finger. The site also gives a brief explanation of how the system works as well as some high-speed videos showing just how quickly the blade stops rotating. I wonder if this same technology might be used to protect you neighbor's cat from your robotic lawnmower?"
I don't see how this is going to work for me. I use my power tools to prepare my BBQ. I use the saw to split the hot dogs and shape the hamburger patties.
It is "features" like this that kill the hobbist market for power tools.
The grass is only greener, if you don't take care of your own lawn.
"Now, Mr. Bond, since you won't talk, you will loose your..."
CHUG.
"...eh? Damn you SawStop"
T.
But seriously, the question is when they go to cut off their third leg will the blade not stop until they can no longer have kids?
/* FUCK - The F-word is here so that you can grep for it */
If by "new" you mean "3 or 4 years ago"... This has shot around the internet for ever.
Sorry, this type of safety feature has been available for a few years. I have seen it demonstrated, and it is impressive. 3hp cabinet saw meets hotdog. The blade stopped instantly, with only a small nick taken out of the hot dog.
The unit I saw demonstrated was a one-use unit. Once the brake was used, it had to be replaced. The system had to be professionally installed, which is very inconvienient unless you have an installer in your city. It was also expensive, relative to the tool. However, when compared to your fingers, how expensive is it really?
Personally, I would never use one of these things. If you use your tools properly, and avoid running 'bad' wood through your tools, you will never have a problem. Avoid distractions, pay attention, and use push sticks.
Very cool! That video is unbelievable? For a moment I thought it was a clever edit! If it is so effective, then why do they need to use a hot dog for the demonstration? Perhaps the hot dog has better conductivity, and makes for a better demonstration? Eventually (if they have not already), they will have to test this on animals.
I can just see it now: A retired carpenter is doing a little sawing, accidentally puts his finger in the way but SawStop saves it....at the cost of his life.
Who will be the first to "Hack" the saw so you can vary the delay time. Survival of the Fittest may still succeed !
"Yes! I am saved by this power saw that is still miraculously working despite the fiery explosion!"
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Damn you science!!!"
I suppose this is finally evidence that hot dogs are made out of the same kind of stuff as flesh.
...is that it tends to underestimate to power of the stupid. Someone with either disable the system and still loose their leg, or in trying to demonstrate it they will, say, drop it on their leg, which give the speed of the blade and momentum it gains accelerating at 9.8 m/s^2 would probably be more then enough to sever an artery or at least cause a lawsuit.
It take more faith to believe in evolution than it takes to believe in God
> the system can stop a blade rotating at 4000 RPM in less than 5 milliseconds
Let's say that's 5 ms even. Let's say 50 teeth on that saw blade. That means your finger has been sliced a nice thousand times already. I rather hope no one thinks of this as a first line of safety...
I thought people might appreciate the humour of this story...
Several years ago, I went through training as an EMT in the great state of Pennsylvania. We were fortunate to have our main training classes held in a Vocational Technology college - which meant we had all sorts of great rooms and setups for running scenarios.
As part of our final exam, we were dispatched to the woodshop room - a room full of hundreds of bandsaws, etc. - for a report of a possible bandsaw accident.
Now there are two things we were trained to keep in mind with possible amputations:
1) Find the limb immediately and pack it in ice - it is very likely it can be saved and reattached.
2) The patient/victim rarely realises, due to the shock of things, that they've actually lost the limb. So for godsake, don't let them notice.
We arrive on 'scene' in this gigantic shop room, which had row upon row of bandsaw, and the actor is sitting there, fully done up complete with fake severed hand gushing blood, which she has a towel pressed against. She informs us that she was working on the bandsaw and cut herself, and she thinks it's pretty deep. My partner carefully approaches, lifts the towel - and it's quite clear [thanks to the instructors insistence on proper special effects to simulate the injury] that the hand is completely severed.
Taking the initiative on action point #1, I scan the nearest bandsaws for any sign of the severed limb, and see nothing. My brain takes control before I can think, insistent upon finding this limb, and of course states to the patient "Ma'am, Where is the rest of your hand?"
And as if on cue, the actor flips out and starts wailing and shrieking and flailing, and then descends into shock...
And all I wanted to do was help her find her hand!
[We ended up passing the exam, with a minor downcheck for not being more delicate about the severed limb with the patient - the hand was in the very back of the room. Apparently none of the other groups even thought to find the limb, and took the patient to the hospital immediately].
> I wonder if this same technology might be used to protect you neighbor's cat from your robotic lawnmower?
:-)
I wonder if this same technology might be used to create an automatic, mechanical, cat replacement that uses the meat detector to find mice. (But then again, how would you keep it from eating your neighbor's kitten too?...
Man, if you were working on something and your wood got a little too wet or something, and this thing went off incorrectly, it would be both problematic and expensive. A false negative would be pretty bad too.
I know Apu might sell soy-dogs but making one from cows is not a victimless crime.
......
Time to send some of these saws to the abattoir.
Now, if it's a victimless breakfast you want
bring it on
There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter
March 2003 I took a good chunk out of my left index finger on the table saw. Ouch.
And I'm normally a very, very careful person on the saw. But between a little kickback, hands in the wrong place, an odd shaped piece I wound up with an avulsion laceration (ripped the skin off the fleshy part of my fingertip about 1/8" wide and bone deep). Quick trip to the ER. Nothing really to stitch up, the doctor left it open but dressed and packed for a couple of weeks. The skin grew back, and I've got a rather odd fingerprint there now.
I'd trade what happened to my finger for the damage done to the hot dog any day.
This needs to be expanded to routers and hand tools. Kickback from circular saws is very frightening.
Get off my lawn.
I've developed a heat-sensing technology for robotic lawnmowers in this vein... but it isn't meant to PROTECT the neighbor's cat.
!!! +5 INSIGHTFUL !!!
I type with my nose you insensitive clod!!
May the Maths Be with you!
Can they install this amputation-prevention device in sociopaths, too?
--TheOrangeSquid Is it any wonder things seem so awry? We swim in a sea of confusion and don't have to think to survive
Research shows that left-handers are 51% more likely than right handers to suffer accidental injury using tools machinery or other implements
If you're right-handed, imagine having to use all your machinery and tools the "wrong" way (ie left-handed). Even though there are more left-handed people today, the fact stands that the majority of the world's population is right-handed so left-handed products will become nothing more than the niche market it is today.
For a moment their I thought there was a new browser feature that bypasses all those annoying flash adverts... Unfortunately I read the title wrong.
"New Safety Feature Detects Flash"
Nick
Electronic Music Made Using Linux http://soundcloud.com/polyp
A bandsaw is commonly used to cut meat in butcher shops. I'm guessing that this device would not work on that application.
Also, gotta wonder if this sort of thing might actually *increase* the number of injuries from power cutting equipment -- by reducing the level of respect for the destruction power of the equipment. Sorta like some of the safety features of automobiles has led to some folks driving more agressively...
Concealed Handgun License Courses in Plano, Texas
This buzz's for you.
"fewer people visiting the emergency room due to deadly accidents"
:-)
:-)
If it is too deadly, they will be in the morgue
Forget trying to use it as a safety device, why not attack when you detect flesh, thus stopping your neighbours dog shitting on your lawn!
Go RoboMower! Mow his ass!
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I mean with the exception of some movie heroes and people with very determined girlfriends shouting "You can't give up now!", people normally go to morgues after deadly accidents, right? 8-)
Yesterday was the time to do it right. Are we having a REVOLUTION yet?
...John Wayne Bobbit had all of his kitchen knives replaced with electric knives sporting the new technology.
Liberty uber alles.
I work in the Loss Control industry, which is a fancy way of saying I try to make jobs safer for people so that A) you still have your limbs at the end of the day, and B) your employer doesn't have to pay through the nose for injuries/casualties.
/.'er, is that the cartridge must be re-useable. Not infinitely, but it should be able to hold at least 6 good stops to itself before needing a cartridge change. (By law, and good safety policy, such systems should be regularly tested.)
I showed the videos to the Director of the company and immediately it's been making it's rounds through the office. This is exciting technology, this is *important* technology. Ask the thousands of labourers, carpenters, shop workers, around north america who've lost digits to cutting accidents what they think of this technology. No, you won't hear a goddamn negative thing.
Some people have complained about the inventor of the technology trying to make the device mandatory on cutting tools. Is this self-serving for him? Hell yes. Is he still in the right? Undoubtedly. Hard hats, steel toe boots, rebar covers, flagmen, confined space entry, are all areas of industry that are strongly regulated by governments, and made mandatory by law. This should, without a doubt, join it.
One significant aspect of the technology that needs to be addressed however, and raised by a fellow
I look forward to this technology becoming industry standard. The man who invented it is going to be filthy, stinking rich, and definetly deserves to be. That's what innovation leads to; success.
And for the rest of you going on about "You don't need this if you're careful.", I call bullshit. You need a hardhat, you need safety goggles, you need steel-toe boots. *YOU* can be careful, but you can't control all variables around you. That's why they're called 'Accidents' when they happen.
"To pass through the jungle; silence, courtesy, ferocity, as the occasion demands." -- Kamau, "Proper Passage"
This reminded me of the newish Craftsman circular saws that shine a laser beam along the wood surface to be cut. I haven't been able to find technical details on how exactly it works, but if the laser is mounted to the saw, isn't this similar to being guided by your car's headlights?
When I read the title, I thought this was going to be some device parents could put on their tv to be ready for the next "wardrobe malfunction".
Governments should never make the product of a monopoly mandatory.
Mandatory single sourcing from a non-competitive market leads to bad design.
For one thing, if all bandsaws must have SuperStop technology, the owner of the patented SuperStop technology suddenly has complete control of who can make bandsaws.
Why make a 6 stops SuperStop when there's no competition against the current 1 stop model?
Yes this technologies great, yes people who say "but I'm too careful" are idiots, no this patented technology shouldn't be mandatory.
Expert in software patents or patent law? Contribute to the ESP wiki!
...who read that as "New Safety Feature Detects Flash"? And thought it made sense?
Sure I'm paranoid, but am I paranoid enough?
I personally think you would disable one of the better features, and excuses, of the robotic lawnmower if you installed this.
Sure I'm paranoid, but am I paranoid enough?
I'm going to install one of these on my bumper.
*BEEEEEEP!*
"Hey! We just hit a.....ooops"
If they could get this system to work at a distance it would be a breakthrough in hitting on girls from your car.
It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
You're right. That one-armed shop teacher made everyone respect power tools more. (Just don't tell them that there's a safety net. No one has to know ;)
www.facebook.com/DareDefendOurRights
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Ditto for playing a guitar, a violin, and eating with chopsticks(believe me, using them left-handed will interfere with the person to your left).
I can shoot a rifle or pistol left- or right-handed. Right-handed is slightly safer: most semiautomatics eject the spent (and hot) cartridge to the right, so shooting a rifle left-handed is an invitation to catch hot cartridges on your right arm!
Also, I can play most anyone's guitar: I'm not restricted to left-handed models.
http://darwinawards.com/stupid/stupid2001-07.html
"I say we take off, nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."
I nearly had a finger amputated about 2 years ago. I was doing construction work in a condo tower. Due to construction, electricity was only available from something like two outlets on the entire floor. One such active outlet was inside a dark closet where some appliances were being stored. With only a flashlight to see by, I set up an electric chopsaw on top of a dishwasher box. I was about to make my cut, but I wasn't happy with the orientation of the flashlight, so I made a minor adjustment to the saw's position. One hand was behind the saw, and the other one was on the handle. I grabbed the handle to move the saw.
The motor spun.
"Shit! my hand is back there, I could have gotten hurt!" was my initial thought. I looked at my left hand that was behind the saw. Three fingers had a saw kerf across them, with the largest injury sustained by my left ring finger. It's not everday that you see the bones in your finger.
Needless to say, this required a trip to the hospital. The strange thing about injuries of this nature is the pain. I never felt any pain as the blade erased the flesh and tendons of my fingers, the pain slowly creeps in after several hour as the numbness subsides. The doctor that was attending to my wounds was impressed that I was paying more attention to what he was doing than most of his students. I had surgery a few days later to finish the work, and had a metal rod through my finger for many weeks. The metal rod acts like a hyper-sensitive nerve, ready to send a shock of pain down your arm if something so remotely as brushes contact with it. As new flesh was growing over the wound, I would go in every few days to have it look at, and have any old dead tissue scraped off with a small metal hook.
Metal hook + exposed nerves = much fun, if you're the type that likes pain.
Later when the metal rod was removed, I went through rehabilition to restore strength/movement of my finger. That went on several weeks. After that was occupational therapy, for another two weeks.
I've use tools for many, many years. All the hand held power tools I've use always had a a common feature, a trigger switch. A switch large enough for one maybe two fingers to use. The chopsaw that nearly took my finger off was made by Ryobi, and had a trigger switch that ran down the whole length of the handle! This is the most ignorant, short-sight and stupid design I've ever seen! Why one earth would you trade safety and intuitive use for convenience? Anyone who's ever used a chop saw *always* uses the handle for carrying, adjusting and using the saw. But to put a switch that runs the whole length of the handle and not have an active safety device on it is criminal. Fuck you Ryobi!
My pinkie and middle finger only recieved superficial injuries and today only have a bit of scarring on them. My ring finger had its extensor tendon shredded, and as such, I'm no longer able to full extend that finger by itself.
I am aware that my working conditions were a contributing factor (I was told that someone fell to their death on the same site a few months earlier), but had the power switch on that saw been a conventional trigger switch, this accident would never have happened. It all comes down to better tool design.
> could result in a lot fewer people visiting the
> emergency room due to deadly accidents.
That's odd. Guess you're Canadian. We send our fatalities to the morgue instead.
StoneCypher is Full of BS
You don't sharpen an axe blade like you do a knife blade. That fine a point would be blunted in one or two chops. A duller blade to begin with, may not slice through trees like a ninja's sword ( as in Spies like Us ) but it will chop more trees between resharpenings, and not get stuck in the logs.
Eat at Joe's.
Apparently, this is new and old.
I saw this guy interviewed at the last International Builder's Show.
He's been trying to get manufacturers to integrate this technology for about that long. They haven't bitten.
Now, I remember seeing this when it first came out. At that time the technology ruined the motor when it stopped.
The rationale was, "a motor is cheaper than a finger". But judging by the "metal bypass switch" feature, if you cut through a nail by accident, you'd loose your table saw motor. That's a $500 or higher mistake.
No wonder there was resistance.
Now, it appears he's redesigned the idea, with a detachable arbor and a $59 brake kit. If you cut through a nail now, you're out 10% as much as before.
The vendors might start paying attention now. Except somebody else mentioned he's trying to sue this product into existence, in which case an ego battle is once again making the world a lesser place.
My God, it's Full of Source!
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