In factory operations, task lighting is specified for CNC machine tools, assembly lines and other places where people need to see what they’re doing. In the past fluorescent tubes were the norm. LEDs are now the standard. These new lights have numerous advantages over the old methods. Energy use is greatly reduced, and the form factors are smaller, allowing industrial lighting companies like Waldmann Lighting to design the optimal solutions for each task. For lighting inside machines such as mills and lathes, LED sources can be placed unobtrusively, while lighting up the work brighter than ever.
Lighting inside a machine can be complicated. Older technologies such as fluorescents and halogens tended to get hot, causing coolant to bake on, resulting in that yellowish-brown film. The much cooler LEDS will not cause this effect. Waldmann LED lights are 5000K temperature, for a bright white light like daylight. This light can cut through milky coolants and show exactly what’s going on.
Light breakage has always been an OSHA concern. The toxic materials, including heavy metal vapors, and broken glass cause safety issues. LED lights are printed circuit board (PCB) based, meaning they’re impact and vibration resistant. With LED Lights, maintenance is not an issue. LEDs don’t just fail, they slowly lose light over time, giving you time to replace them without causing unplanned downtime. In fact, according to Waldmann Lighting, the LED panels provide 60,000+ hours of light output, plus even more hours at 80% of the initial light output. Of course, this time far surpasses the life of the machine tooling, and therefore lighting becomes part of the regular preventive maintenance (PM) cycle rather than a constant concern.
For more on industrial lighting, visit Waldmann Lighting.