Rexroth power supply modules won’t play nice with a pacemaker. In fact, many of the components of your industrial motion control and machinery in general can create problems with pacemakers. Here are some of the things that can cause interference with pacemakers:
- Large motors
- Large power supplies
- Electromagnets
- Generators (including your power supply module, which is probably acting as a generator)
If this sounds like practically everything you have in the room, you’re right.
What’s a pacemaker?
Pacemakers are devices that help control the beating of a heart that isn’t able to regulate itself correctly. These devices are implanted inside the body, so you may not realize that a visitor to the facility has a pacemaker.
Industrial machinery can interfere with the functioning of the pacemaker in a number of ways. They could just suppress the pacemaker’s message to the heart, causing the heart to skip a beat. The machinery can reset the pacemaker so that the heart’s pace becomes faster or irregular. This interference can even cause the pacemaker to stop completely.
Solutions
Warnings should be posted in any room containing the things listed above. However, if an individual using a pacemaker should come into the room and experience interference as described above, the top priority is to get him or her away from the machinery as quickly as possible.
This should solve the problem, allowing the pacemaker to return to normal functioning. Pacemakers will generally do this on their own within a short amount of time.
One important thing to be aware of: machinery in poor condition is more likely to cause problems for people with pacemakers. This is just one more reason to make sure your motion control system is functioning correctly.
Rexroth industrial motion control units are not designed to be repaired on the machine. The modular design allows you to localize the problem, pull the component, and replace it quickly for minimum downtime. We have the largest supply of emergency replacement units in the nation. Call us for support.