Production tests aren't just for quality control

摘要

Design engineers sometimes think only about end use when the topic of product safety comes up. Big mistake: Design-for-safety must anticipate what can happen to the product during production. If production strays from design tolerances, poor quality may be the least of the problems. We've seen instances where out-of-tolerance conditions rendered parts unsafe. For example, one manufacturer of gas valves fielded units containing a riser and casting. The user had to pull the dial out to clear the riser when turning the dial to the on position. This action then activated the pilot light's thermocouple monitor. This guard was there to turn the gas line off in case the pilot light went out.