PRODUCT REPORT | BELOW THE HOOK
A flexible sheet is no problem for Bradley’s vacuum lifter.
complex devices there are many variants. Caldwell divides its range into what they call ‘small bundle sheet lifters’ for light- duty handling of smaller size sheets and bundles, “motorised heavy-duty sheet lifters or hydraulic sheet lifters” for bundles, sheets, plates, and other materials stacked horizontally, and “plate lifters” for handling thick plates one at a time. In the first category its Model 60 is the
lightest: the legs are adjusted inwards or outwards by a self-locking worm gear driven by a handwheel turned by the
operator. The 60BMS is battery operated; the 60H is hydraulic powered – needing less maintenance that mechanical drives, say Caldwell – and the 60M is driven by mains electricity. They have a model 62, handwheel driven, for lighter duty and smaller sheets, for up to 5t capacity. All the devices we have mentioned so
far have been mechanical. Flat plates are also ideal applications for vacuum lifting and, if they are of steel, for magnetic or electromagnetic lifting. Since we are talking here of plates and sheets in general,
including plywood, glass, composites and even stone, we shall leave magnetic lifting to a future article and concentrate here on attachments that can lift plate or sheet made of any material. Vacuum lifters fall into that category. They
are frequently customised and made-to order to clients’ exact needs in terms of size and weight. Bradley Lifting of Pennsylvania designs and manufactures mechanical plate- lifters, but also just such heavy duty vacuum lifting machines. In their words, “Vacuum lifters are generally used for handling materials that are non-magnetic, thin and difficult to grasp with other lifting devices, susceptible to surface or edge marking or damage, and where single-sheet handling from a stack is required.” The size and number of vacuum pads
of course depends on the weight and dimensions of the load – and loads can be surprisingly heavy and still be safely supported by vacuum. Pipes and curved loads may need specially-shaped rubber or foam edges to the vacuum cups but of course no such issues arise with lifting flat plates. Surface finish and porosity of the load are considerations, but vacuum lifting is surprisingly adaptable: materials of some degree of porosity to air – such as sacks or cardboard, can still be easily handled. “Multiple Pad Vacuum Lifters are
Flat plates are ideal for vacuum lifting. 26 | April 2024 |
www.hoistmagazine.com appropriate for lifting materials with large
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