[NHCOLL-L:4458] Drifting compactor carriages

[Janet Waddington]

Has anyone had an experience with compactor carriages drifting back into the open aisle?  We have several old (1980s) SpaceSaver installations with AC motors.  In the heavily loaded paleo collection a couple of carriages have been drifting back for a couple of years now - sometimes as much as a foot before they come to rest.  A couple of carriages in the mammal collections have started doing this recently. There is no electronic damping of the movement. The carriages just stop when you stop pushing the button or when the limit switch cuts out the motor.  These carriages are now stopping normally, then drifitng back. This could be a potential safety issue as there is no safety sweep in this mode.

I'd be interested in knowing whether anyone else has experienced this and if you have any idea of the cause and solution. Right now we are just using a piece of wood to block the drift.

Thanks,

Janet Waddington
Assistant Curator and Collection Manager
Department of Natural History - Palaeobiology
Royal Ontario Museum
100 Queen's Park
Toronto, ON
Canada M5S 2C6
Phone  (416) 586-5593  Fax  (416) 586-5553
Email  janetw at rom.on.ca