Stop!

Read this important safety information before using your new Dephy product


Ignoring the instructions on this page could result in broken electronics, robots, or computers and/or physical injury.

robot with wrench
  1. General
    1. Dephy makes products for professional researchers to use in the laboratory environment. The information contained in this and other Dephy materials is intended to support your efforts to safeguard your users and service personnel. You need to consider and assure all aspects of safety for your particular use of our products, including:
      • Identify the energy sources used (such as electrical and mechanical)
      • Measure the energy levels they produce (such as thermal, mechanical, electrical, optical, acoustical)
      • Determine whether the energy from the sources is hazardous
      • Identify how energy can be transferred to a body part (such as conduction, convection, kinetic energy, optical, acoustic)
      • Determine appropriate safeguard schemes:
        • To protect defined persons against pain and injury from the classified energy sources
        • To reduce the likelihood of injury or property damage due to an electrically caused fire originating within the equipment
      • Measure the effectiveness of those safeguards
    2. Do not disassemble Dephy products
    3. Do not modify Dephy products
    4. Many products have moving parts (motors, shafts, belts)
      • Keep fingers away from pinch points
      • Keep your work surface tidy to avoid entanglement
      • Always secure components to the work surface for benchtop experiments
    5. Only use genuine Dephy accessories with your Dephy products
  2. Electrical
    1. We recommend using a benchtop power supply instead of batteries whenever possible. Use a high-quality power supply with a current-limit, and adjust that limit in accordance to be just above the maximum current required by your experiment.
      • A power supply that goes in a temporary protection mode (ex.: if the current is exceeded, or if regenerated current raises the voltage) can lead to instability and unexpected behaviors, as the control loops try to compensate for the lower bus voltage.
      • During development, always monitor +VB and Battery current in the GUI. This will allow you to set the proper limits.
    2. Using a USB cable and a power source (battery or power supply) can lead to problems if the power source is disconnected during an experiment. Large currents will flow through the USB cable and they may break the embedded system and/or your computer.
      • Always use an isolated USB adapter (ex. SMAKN USB Isolator)
      • If you can, use Bluetooth instead of USB.
    3. Configure the Programmable Fuse (I²t) and UVLO of your products
    4. Batteries can be dangerous! We highly recommend using the Dephy BA30 battery, as it has built-in safety features, instead of using unprotected cells/packs.
  3. Mechanical
    1. The brushless motors used in the ActPack and the ExoBoot have very high torque constants. Use extreme caution when manipulating and using the products.
      • Whenever possible, design mechanical fuses or limits to protect your users.
    2. Users need to provide strain-relieving for all cables.
  4. Software
    1. The Dephy Demo Scripts are provided as examples only.
      • We cannot guarantee that they work with your system (OS, library version, embedded computer)
      • We cannot guarantee that they won’t behave differently after an update
      • Always test on a benchtop ActPack, with a motor that’s free to move
      • We cannot promise that the motor will enter a safe state if the script crashes
    2. Users are responsible for writing the proper safety code, exception handling, etc.
    3. Review the difference between USB and Bluetooth with regards to controls; with USB the Write bandwidth is extremely limited.
  5. BA30 Battery
  6. BA30 is intended for use by academic and industrial researchers in a controlled environment.

    1. Do not disassemble battery
    2. Do not puncture battery
    3. Do not drop battery
    4. Avoid placing battery packs on surfaces higher than 2.5 meters to avoid drops
    5. Inspect any dropped battery for cracks; remove any battery with visible damage from service
    6. Remove any battery dropped for more than 1.2 meters from service
    7. Do not submerge battery in any liquids
    8. Do not short the output of the battery
    9. Do not leave the battery in direct sunlight for extended periods.
    10. Do not operate the battery beyond a temperature range of -10°C to 45°C. When beginning cold weather operation, start with a fully charged battery at room temperature.
    11. Do not charge the battery until battery temperature has reached room temperature.
    12. Inspect BA30 terminals before use to ensure connector integrity
    13. Inspect BA30 terminals before use and remove any debris (using a non-conductive tool)
    14. Only use Dephy chargers and accessories (Smart Dock, Receptacle)
    15. Only use battery with BA30 Receptacle or Dephy product (ex.: EB60) to prevent connector damage
    16. Do not leave charging batteries unattended for longer than 1.5 hours
    17. Contact Dephy if a battery does not exit Nap mode after the wake up procedure
    18. Do not use battery outside of the operating conditions listed in the specifications
    19. Place batteries stored for more than two months in Nap Mode, after charging them to 50%
    20. A LiPo safe bag is provided in the event that your battery becomes damaged. Best practice is to store any unused LiPo batteries in a LiPo bag until ready for use.
    21. Dephy batteries are designed with several safety features to minimize the risks of creating hazardous conditions. One safety mechanism is the venting of gasses in the event of an internal short within the battery cells. The gas released by a venting Li-ion cell is mainly carbon dioxide (CO2). Other gases that form through heating may contain vaporized electrolyte consisting of hydrogen fluoride (HF), and phosphoryl fluoride (POF3), combustion products and organic solvents 1 In the event of a battery vent occurrence:

      • Disconnect any charger or load
      • Place battery in a LiPo safe bag or similar container and move battery to an area with good ventilation
      • Ventilate the room and vacate area if smoke and gases are present
    22. A fire involving Dephy products, including LiPo batteries can be handled like any other combustible fire. For best results use a foam extinguisher, CO2, ABC dry chemical, powdered graphite, copper powder or soda (sodium carbonate).
    23. If a semi sweet smell is detected emanating from the battery, place the unit in LiPo safe bag and contact Dephy.
    24. Contact Dephy for appropriate shipping directives before returning a defective or damaged battery 1
    1For more information, please refer to https://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/safety_concerns_with_li_ion

    We appreciate that you took time to read our safety instructions.


    Now go ahead!


    C_0001_LB_0001_V01_SAFETYINFO
    December 23, 2020