Height Safety Equipment 

Brief

AYD is a leading development company for the height safety industry. Their position is built on years of experience, providing technical support in the development of height safety and evacuation products. HJC Design partnered AYD in the development of a new retractable lifeline range.

Method

A unique twin pawl floating brake system had been developed for this new product range.  HJC approached the project in two stages, first to gain a total understanding of this new braking method and its requirements, then to identify the performance criteria for the product. This provided a complete awareness of all the design issues to be considered and problems that needed to be resolved.  HJC designed and developed a compact and robust case capable of withstand the 1500Kg static & 6KN dynamic test requirements, without the need for expensive alloy reinforcement inserts. This partnership continued with HJC providing injection mould tool designs and manufacturing data, further reducing both lead times and development costs.

Solution

These new ranges of retractable lifelines are not only the lightest in the world, but are also the first on the market to utilise an active braking system. The range uses webbing woven from liquid polyester capable of withstanding forces in excess of 2 tonne. Engineering plastics based on semi-crystalline polyamides were specified for the case and internal drum, encasing a cassette spring recoil system capable of deploying a 1.5-10m Kevlar lanyard. The compact design and robust injection moulded shell protects the unique internal mechanism from the environment and user abuse, allowing the unit to be serviced at minimum cost.