Why is Vandal-Proofing Important?
Implementing vandal-resistant machinery and HMIs (human-machine interfaces) can be of great benefit to businesses across industries, for a number of reasons.
The first and maybe most apparent reason to vandal-proof your equipment is if it is used in a public space without much supervision. If hundreds or thousands of people have access to it on a daily basis, a machine can easily be damaged by mishandling or even just by overuse. So, by choosing to protect it with vandal-resistant measures, you can reduce the likelihood of someone breaking your equipment, but also extend its lifespan.
For businesses whose machinery is only used by trained employees, protecting machinery from accidental or intentional damage may not seem necessary for day-to-day operations. But if an incident such as a break-in was to occur, the cost – both in time and money – of repairing or replacing any machinery would have an immediate and serious impact on a business and its productivity.
How to Make Your Machinery Vandal-Resistant
Securable Controls
One of the most straight-forward ways to prevent damage or unwanted use of your machinery is to secure any controls or interfaces when they aren’t in use. One way to do this is with keylock switches, as they allow you to keep controls locked so only authorised employees with a key can access them.
Robust Materials
If you are manufacturing machinery, choose materials that have increased durability, with an IK rating. This rating indicates how protected materials and devices are against impact, with IK10 being the highest degree of protection. IP rated components also create more robust machinery, as they are resistant to particulates and water.
Anchoring
When possible, anchoring machinery to the floor or walls can also help to prevent damage, especially in public settings. For example, securing a vending machine to the wall and floor would prevent anyone potentially tilting or rocking it, which could be dangerous.
Minimise Gaps
When designing machinery, minimising any gaps around components or between panels, etc, makes it harder for someone to tamper with it. It would also reduce the chances of small objects or water entering the machine and causing internal damage.
Anti-Graffiti Paint
To add another layer of protection to any devices in public spaces, you can cover them with anti-graffiti paint. This is especially important where any labels or instructions are printed, so that they can remain visible even if someone tries to deface them.
Use Our Anti-Vandal Push Buttons
Our Anti-Vandal Push Buttons are the perfect solution to prevent your control panels and HMIs from being damaged. These hard-wearing switches offer simple function and design, with an added layer of protection thanks to their vandal-resistant materials and ratings of IP65 or above.
We have anti-vandals in a wide range of styles, including high current and low profile options, with RGB LED illumination, and in sizes from 6mm to 40mm.
These push buttons are also uniquely customisable, with a variety of material finishes, LED illumination styles and stamped or etched custom symbols/text.
Other Anti-Vandal Components
Our new LED illuminated anti-vandal toggle and rocker switches offer an alternative to standard push buttons.
Our range of metal LED indicators give similar LED illumination to our anti-vandal push buttons, but without the push function.
Our IP rated metal buzzers also work to indicate the user to an issue or change, but use a buzz sound rather than an LED.
Summary
No matter what you use your machinery for, making it resistant to vandalism can greatly benefit your business in the long run. Creating machinery from robust materials, with secure control panels and anti-vandal components is the best way to ensure that they will be able to keep running for longer and be more protected against damage.
Interested in our products? Speak to us today!
How to place an order?
We operate Monday – Thursday (8 am – 5 pm) and Fridays (8 am – 4.30 pm)
Call us on +44 (0) 1234 213600 to speak to our Sales Engineers or e-mail us
on [email protected] alternatively, leave us a message using our online contact form.
View our full product range here | Download our recent product catalogue
Switch on.
Sign up to our mailing list for the latest news, product notification and so much more!
Just one click away…