Revised safety standard for injection molding machines now available

The Machinery Safety Standards Committee of trade group The Plastics Industry Association has published its new voluntary standard establishing requirements for the manufacture and use of plastics injection molding machines.

Called “ANSI/PLASTICS B151.1-2017 – Safety Requirements for Injection Molding Machines”, the new standard was approved after three years of revision by the members of the Machinery Safety Standards Committee and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Board of Standards Review.

Two of the most significant changes in the new standard relate to the mechanical safety device (aka “jam bar” or “drop bar”) becoming optional for horizontal machines if built to the 2017 standard, and the combination of two previously separate standards into a single, easier-to-use standard for both types of machines. “Having one standard instead of two will ultimately simplify the manufacturing of these machines in North America,” The Plastics Industry Association said in a statement. “The new standard aligns with the European and draft ISO standards on this subject, making it easier for North American manufacturers to compete with their counterparts abroad.”

The work on the revised standard was led by the Machinery Safety Standards Committee’s Subcommittee on Injection Molding, which is chaired by Jim Pilavdzic, manager, product safety, with Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd., and vice chair Larry Keller, chief engineer with Milacron Inc.

The new standard is available for purchase on The Plastics Industry Association and the ANSI websites.