Sitema Safety Catchers, manufactured by Sitema GmbH in Karlsruhe, Germany, are clamping devices that mount around shafts to support vertical loads. They are designed to decelerate and stop falling loads, preventing personal injury or damage to equipment. A series of specially designed wedged clamping jaws are arranged inside the Safety Catcher housing, each with one slide lining and one brake lining. During normal function of themachine, hydraulic or pneumatic pressure is applied to the plunger, forcing it upward and compressing the spring at the top of the jaw. The clamping jaws are held in a raised position so the shaft can move freely. The clamping force is not developed until it is needed. If a loss of pressure occurs releasing the plungers, the action of the springs biases the clamping jaws to engage, decelerate and stop the falling load. The actual self-intensifying deceleration, stopping and holding force is created by the kinetic energy of the falling load as it pulls the clamping jaws deeper into the wedge shaped chamber. This provides a safety factor ranging between 2:1 and 4:1. Release is only possible bymoving the load upward and pressuring the wedges again. Thus, the condition that caused the shaft to dropmust be corrected before the Safety Catcher will release. Sitema Safety Catchers are available in the U.S. from Advanced Machine & Engineering Co. (AME). For more information contact: AME 2500 LathamSt, Rockford, IL 61103 815-962-6076 ext. 277 info@ame.com www.ame.com