The little metal pegs on a snow blower or a fuse in a circuit are examples I can think of.

    • dmention7@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      11
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      “Ackshyually” incoming…

      Failsafe has a specific meaning, describing a system that enters an inherently safe state in the case of a failure.

      For example, semi truck parking brakes are actually disengaged by applying air pressure to the system; without air pressure the brakes are engaged automatically by heavy springs. Therefore most failures in the braking system would just result in being unable to disengage the brakes, as opposed to a truck rolling away.

      So, while a sacrificial component like OP is describing could be designed as part of a failsafe, generally it’s a different design principle at play.

  • Techranger@infosec.pub
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    7
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    Mechanical fuse. Typically composed of shear pins or can be geartrain shafts manufactured with intentionally thinner cross-sections placed at strategic points. A plastic cog in some power tools serves a similar purpose.

    • bingbong@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      6
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      Technically just fuses are meant to be sacrificial in most cases. A breaker is more like a switch that has a special fuse for super high currents.

  • iconic_admin@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    5
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    I wanted to say fuse…

    Fire sprinkler heads have a little glass vile filled with a glycerin based liquid holding the valve closed. When they heat up beyond a certain point, the liquid expands and bursts the vile, releasing the water from the sprinkler head. Note: only the sprinkler head exposed to the fire will dispense water, not the entire system as seen in movies. Also note: that water has been setting in an iron pipe for probably years and is absolutely disgusting.

    Similarly, some commercial kitchens have a fuse-able link, which is a metal link in a chain made of some metal with a low melting point. When there’s a fire this link will melt and cause the roll up door between the kitchen and the rest of the building to slam shut.

    After writing this I realize that it doesn’t necessarily answer the spirit of the question. But I guess these parts fail to protect the rest of the building, so maybe it does answer the question.