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posted by martyb on Saturday August 12 2017, @03:05AM   Printer-friendly
from the safety-is-no-accident dept.

In 2015, 4,700 people in the US lost a finger or other body part to table-saw incidents. Most of those injuries didn't have to happen, thanks to technology invented in 1999 by entrepreneur Stephen Gass. By giving his blade a slight electric charge, his saw is able to detect contact with a human hand and stop spinning in a few milliseconds. A widely circulated video[1] shows a test on a hot dog that leaves the wiener unscathed.

Now federal regulators are considering whether to make Gass' technology mandatory in the table-saw industry. The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced plans for a new rule in May, and the rules could take effect in the coming months.

But established makers of power tools vehemently object. They say the mandate could double the cost of entry-level table saws and destroy jobs in the power-tool industry. They also point out that Gass holds dozens of patents on the technology. If the CPSC makes the technology mandatory for table saws, that could give Gass a legal monopoly over the table-saw industry until at least 2021, when his oldest patents expire.

At the same time, table-saw related injuries cost society billions every year. The CPSC predicts switching to the safer saw design will save society $1,500 to $4,000 per saw sold by reducing medical bills and lost work.

"You commissioners have the power to take one of the most dangerous products ever available to consumers and make it vastly safer," Gass said at a CPSC public hearing on Wednesday.

Source: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/08/patent-disputes-stand-in-the-way-of-radically-safer-table-saws/

[1] SawStop Hot dog Video - Saw blade retracts within 5 milliseconds of accidental contact - YouTube.


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  • (Score: 2) by Pslytely Psycho on Tuesday August 15 2017, @01:12PM

    by Pslytely Psycho (1218) on Tuesday August 15 2017, @01:12PM (#554243)

    It seemed you were making light of issues of kickback and saw safety as well. I got a tad worked up as you sounded exactly like the guy I described whose fingers I fished out of the sawdust.

    I have seen properly operated saws catch on an odd patch of wood and spun out sideways with enough force to put a worker in the hospital with three broken ribs. As I was a sawyer safety trainer with Allpak for years so I took it a bit personal. Apologies.

    Yeah, shattered wood in a lathe is an unforgettable experience.....almost as much fun as the idiot who knocked over the Oxygen tank breaking the valve off....Went through a brick wall and firmly lodged itself in the side of a semi truck trailer full of wooden panels. Rocket power for the win!

    Too much beer before posting. I hope I am not rambling too much.
    Peace.

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