Foot Switch for Industrial Machines

  • several colours
  • Aluminium housing
  • Protection degree IP65
  • several colours
  • Aluminium housing
  • Protection degree IP65
  • several colours
  • sturdy feet
  • Changeover contact (1NO/1NC)

Foot switches - Pedal switches for machine and personal safety in industry

Like pendant stations, foot switches are used for the safety of machines and people in industrial machine control. Just like pendant switches, pedal switches for the feet are used when manual switching on and off of production processes and machine work steps is necessary. However, foot switches or pushbuttons are only used when a person already has their hands full when operating the machine, i.e. operation by foot is necessary, or when manually operated switches represent a safety risk. Accordingly, they are often used in wood processing or general forming technology. Foot switches also have their place in packaging technology. Often, switching by hand is also not possible due to structural conditions.

Foot switches maintain the employees’ freedom of movement in the upper body, which is also useful, for example, if they have less freedom of movement due to old age or joint problems. Ergonomic dimensions allow fatigue-free operation. As experts in industrial equipment, we have geared our product range to a wide variety of industrial requirements and conditions. We offer metal safety foot switches with aluminium covers for heavy industrial requirements, as well as lightweight plastic foot switches. Miniature foot switches are suitable for light industrial and also commercial environments, so they can also be used, for example, for switching medical equipment on or off (e.g. at the dentist) with complete freedom of movement in the upper body.

Requirements for foot switches for machine control

If something goes wrong when controlling machine processes, it is always dangerous, both for the technology and the operating personnel. The design and function of foot switches is accordingly geared to ensuring safe, reliable and low-risk operation of corresponding machines. The potential for error must therefore be kept low.

  • The foot switch must not slip
  • They must be protected from foreign bodies and water
  • In heavy industrial areas, the feet should also be protected
  • Accidental triggering must not occur
  • Safety foot switch: must have a cover and should have an additional unlocking function
  • When combining several foot switches, a stabilising plate (optionally with emergency stop) must be used
  • For switching under extreme conditions, operation at very high and low temperatures is required. Our foot switches can be used from -10°C to +70°C

Four non-slip feet prevent the foot switch from slipping during use. Both our metal as well as our plastic pedal switches also have protection class IP 65, are therefore dust-tight and also protected against strong jets of water. You can also choose between a protective cover made of plastic (ABS or polypropylene) or aluminium. These not only protect the feet from falling objects, but also the pedal switch from being accidentally triggered by stepping on it.To additionally protect the foot switches from unintentional triggering, they are also available as a pedal with safety lever. The safety lever must be actively moved by the foot in order to depress the pedal. In addition, we offer a pedal lock which allows a foot switch to remain permanently actuated until the lock is released by pressing it again. As a supplement to the actuation types, we offer the 2-stage actuation, which can, for example, control different speeds of the machines. Here, two contacts are actuated one after the other.

It may also be necessary to use several foot switches in combination to combine different control processes. In addition, the foot switches can be combined with a carrying handle and a holding device with emergency stop switch.

The carrying handle – optionally equipped with an emergency stop switch – is attached to a stabilising plate, which is available for the combination of two or more foot switches.

Types & construction of foot switches

Sketch of our DELTA foot switches made of plastic and metal

Our foot switches allow different switching and contact variants. You can choose between pedals with one to four contacts (snap-action switch or slow-action switch), as well as various combinations of normally closed and normally open contacts. If the switch is pressed to the pressure point, the contact closes and the respective process or machine is started.
In addition, foot switches differ in the way they are actuated. Here we speak of latching and momentary switches.

  • Latching -activates when pressure is applied by the foot and remains in the contact position until the switch is pressed again.
  • Keying – the pedal must be held down to maintain operation. If the pressure on the foot pedal is released, the contacts return to their original state.

 

Foot switch with controller output - the foot potentiometer

Optionally, potentiometers can be used for some of our foot switches, which act as controllable resistors instead of switching contacts and allow sensitive speed control of machines (electronic accelerator pedal). You can therefore also order the foot switches with 1 or 2 speeds. This is where potentiometer footswitches differ from conventional footswitches. The latter only switch a machine on or off, whereas a potentiometer can control the speed of the connected device. These are often used with variable speed motors to make them run faster or slower by the respective pressure on the foot pedal. Another possible application is the control of flow rates. In short, (mostly momentary) foot potentiometers are thus used to control and regulate variable flow rates and speeds, while normal (mostly latching) foot switches are only used to switch on and off. In this context, one also speaks of variable-speed foot switches. Especially as potentiometers, pedals offer the advantage of having the hands free to concentrate fully on controlling the process in question.

Where are potentiometers used?

  • Drills
  • Sewing machines
  • Lathes
  • Shearing and cutting machines

Snap-action switch or slow-action switch - what is the difference between the contact types?

Snap switches have two defined positions (on-off). When the foot switch is actuated, a metal plate inside the contact is activated, which jumps back and forth between the two states. The switch is therefore either activated or deactivated, there are no other options.

In comparison to the snap-action switches, the slow-action switches behave differently. Here, actuating the trigger inside the switch contact sets a mechanism in motion in which the two contact points approach each other slowly or quickly, depending on the actuation speed, and then finally lead to the closing or opening of the circuit. The advantage of the slow-action switch is the more precise actuation of the switching contacts. The disadvantage of this type of contact is particularly noticeable at higher powers. Due to the possibly slow approach of the switching points, there is a risk of arcing, which can then negatively affect the service life of the contacts. If you would like more information about the contact types, please contact us for an individual consultation.

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B-COMMAND GmbH
Grützmühlenweg 46
22339 Hamburg
Germany

+49 40 53 80 92 50
+49 40 53 80 92 86

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