ISO 10472-4:1997

Overview

ISO 10472-4:1997 - Safety requirements for industrial laundry machinery - Part 4: Air dryers specifies safety guidance and measures for commercial air dryers used in industrial laundries. It complements the common requirements in ISO 10472-1 and broader machine-safety guidance in ISO/TR 12100-1/2. The part applies especially to tumble dryers with a net usable cage volume > 160 L, tunnel finishers (including conveyors) and cabinet dryers, and focuses on identifying hazards and state-of-the-art safety solutions for design, manufacture and operation.

Key topics and technical requirements

• Hazard identification: mechanical (rotating cages, tilting and power-operated doors, conveyors), electrical, thermal (hot surfaces, steam spray), noise, materials/substances (fire, explosion, chemicals), and control-system failures.
• Mechanical protection:
  • Interlocking requirements for doors (interlock vs. guardlocking depending on cage volume and stopping time).
  • Specific measures for tilting machines (hold-to-run control, trip devices, fixed guards, prevention of overturning and descent by gravity).
  • Guarding of tunnel finisher conveyors to prevent drawing-in or trapping.
• Power-operated doors: options include limiting closing force/kinetic energy (e.g., closing force ≤ 150 N; kinetic energy ≤ 10 J; pressure ≤ 0.5 N/mm² until gap < 8 mm), electrosensitive protective devices, fixed guards, or pressure-sensitive edges/mats.
• Electrical safety: for machines ≥ 350 L use EN 60204-1; for 160–350 L the manufacturer decides between IEC 335 parts or EN 60204-1 and must document that decision in the instruction handbook.
• Thermal protection: measures for hot surfaces and loading/unloading zones; scald risk from steam in tunnel finishers.
• Information & verification: requirements for instruction handbooks, warning signs, procedures for energy isolation, maintenance, blockage clearing and emergency door opening (including access under power failure).

Applications and users

ISO 10472-4 is intended for:

• Machine designers and manufacturers of industrial tumble dryers, tunnel finishers and cabinet dryers
• Safety engineers and compliance officers performing risk assessments and machine certification
• Plant managers, maintenance technicians and installers who implement guarding, electrical wiring and safe operating procedures
• Test labs and notified bodies assessing conformity with machine safety requirements

Practical uses include machine design specification, selection of guarding and interlock systems, development of maintenance and lockout procedures, and supporting conformity assessments and procurement requirements.

Related standards (selection)

• ISO 10472-1 (Common requirements)
• ISO/TR 12100-1 / ISO/TR 12100-2 (Machine safety fundamentals)
• EN 60204-1 (Electrical equipment of machines)
• IEC 335-2-11 (Tumble dryers)
• EN 953, EN 1760, EN 50100 (guarding and protective devices)

Keywords: ISO 10472-4, industrial laundry machinery, air dryers, tumble dryers, tunnel finishers, machine safety, interlocking, guarding, risk assessment.