| Fixing The Cutting-Edge: Innovation Meets Table Saw
The table saws in David Butler's (left) workshop are outfitted with prototypes of his "Whirlwind" safety brake system. Whirlwind also doesn't destroy the saw blade when stopping it, so you can just reset the brake and keep working. But SawStop is faster — the brake kicks in within just a few one-thousandths of a second — and it also uses the saw blade itself as a sensor, so you do not require a guard covering the blade for the safety brake to work. Both Whirlwind and SawStop has its advantages and disadvantages. Butler says even the 40-year-old table saw in your grandfather's basement could be made much safer by outfitting it with a Whirlwind safety brake. David Butler designed his safety brakes so they could be easily installed on existing saws and machine tools. , Butler flips on the fluorescent lights in his basement-turned-woodshop. Butler's system works using something called electronic braking. Butler has spent most of his professional career as an electrical engineer — woodworking is more of a hobby. " From there, Butler went on to work for General Electric, Citibank and other major companies. " Whirlwind is designed to be retrofitted onto any existing saw. It's the electrical power standard in the U. But, according to Butler, if you cut that power and send a DC current into the motor in exactly the right way, it's "like pulling the plug out of the wall . Now, David Butler is the latest inventor to show that these saws can be a lot safer. Whirlwind Vs. That's because it's a long road from the drawing board to the store shelf, and so far the major power tool companies have resisted adopting this type of advanced safety technology. 4,000 Amputations A Year And Counting NPR has done a series of stories on another firm, SawStop, that also produces a high-tech table saw safety brake. , the broader industry has resisted adopting such brakes. So far, none of the major power tool companies (including Delta, Ryobi, Black and Decker, Milwaukee and others) are even offering these kinds of advanced, so-called "flesh-sensing" safety brake systems on their saws. The consumer product safety commission has begun drafting new table saw safety regulations — regulations that may very well require advanced systems like those invented by Whirlwind and SawStop. In fact, SawStop inventor Steve Gass had to begin his own saw manufacturing firm to bring his invention to market. Officials are moving closer to adopting new safety standards. In 1958, he started working for IBM. And now, here in his basement workshop, Butler has come up with an impressive invention: a safety brake for table saws. |
Tuesday, 3 April 2012
Fixing The Cutting-Edge: Innovation Meets Table Saw
