October 31, 2012 – The newly revised standard, “ANSI B11.3-2012 American National Standard for Machines – Safety Requirements for Power Press Brakes,” is published and now available from Omron Automation and Safety for $85.00
New topics included in this revision are the ‘close proximity point of operation AOPD’ safeguarding devices, and a means of safeguarding referred to as ‘Safe Speed.’ In addition, this revision incorporates the B11 Accredited Standards Committee’s ‘FASTT’ initiative which defines common language to be used by the entire series of ANSI B11 standards.
Consequently, many definitions of common terms contained in the previous edition of B11.3 can be now be found in the ANSI B11.0 and ANSI B11.19 standards. This initiative also significantly impacts clauses 4, 5, 7, 9, and adds a brand new clause 10 and Annex I on training.
The 2012 standard was revised by the B11.3 Subcommittee and approved by the B11 Accredited Standards Committee for submittal to the ANSI Executive Standards Council as an American National Standard. The standard was then approved by the American National Institute on July 20, 2012.
The requirements of this standard apply to those machines classified as power press brakes (referred to simply as “press brakes”), which are designed and constructed for the specific purpose of bending metal. To achieve this purpose, the press brake is provided with a plate-type ram and a plate-type bed with provisions for attaching standardized press brake tooling. When used for operations other than bending material, other standards may provide additional information and requirements for the specific use or application.
