This thesis presents a study of kickback occurrences on table saws, as well as the development and evaluation of a system designed to mitigate... Show moreThis thesis presents a study of kickback occurrences on table saws, as well as the development and evaluation of a system designed to mitigate health and property hazards due to kickbacks. A kickback is an unwanted situation during the cutting process of many powered circular saw tools, during which the operator of the tool loses control, potentially resulting in severe property and bodily harm. Multiple safety devises exist to prevent this type of situation from occurring; however, all of these devices are passive and often become a burden by decreasing e ciency, and are therefore often removed by the users. This thesis seeks to study the occurrence of kickbacks and to present an active electronic detection system that is able to aid in mitigation of potential damage to property or persons by developing responsive, robust, and practical methods of kickback detection. Implemented detection methods are presented and evaluated for performance. Concepts are also developed, presented, and discussed with the purpose of generating topics for future work. An experimental brake is used to evaluate the performance of the detection methods with an integrated system. M.S. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, May 2014 Show less