Recently, Thomas Conveyor & Equipment Company was approached by a Product Validation Manager working for a large commercial door hardware manufacturer located in Indianapolis, IN. They needed assistance with an ergonomic handling problem. Thomas Conveyor began by suggesting a specifically designed ergonomic lifting device for hardware assembly and placement of commercial doors into test fixtures. There were many unique requirements that had to be met to satisfy their needs. More challenges arose since their product covers a large range of door sizes and weights.
Our customer needed a device which would allow a single technician to lift, rotate and position steel doors into testing fixtures. This was accomplished with a lifter designed with a special vacuum end gripper tooling used to handle smooth metal faced standard and commercial doors measuring 3’ x 7’ and 4’ x 10’. Maximum weight was approximately 500 lbs. The end-effector tooling was designed to attach, lift and rotate these doors. The doors could be either lifted directly from a pallet staged on the floor or removed from a vertical storage rack.
The process begins when these doors are lifted and placed onto a staging platform for hardware assembly such as crash bars, drop rods, sight glass, hinges, etc. Our design enabled a single technician to accomplish all of this. All doors are again lifted, rotated and repositioned back down on the platform for hardware placement on the opposite side. Once this step is completed the door is then raised and rotated so its orientation is now vertical. The ergonomic lifter is then used to transport the assembled door to an automated test fixture area where the mean time between failures (MTBF) of the door’s components can be determined.
Special accommodations were made allowing the lifter and all of its components to fit under a doorway measuring 95” high. While at a selected test fixture, the door’s bottom edge could either be raised or lowered to a height of approximately 7” to 8” above the floor so it could be positioned effortlessly for hinge attachment within the test fixture. Once positioned correctly, the door is then released from the lifter’s grasp.
Removal of a door from a given test fixture stand uses the same steps, but in reverse. Any of the doors removed from a test fixture can be transported, positioned and manually shoved back into a vertical storage rack for use again during another testing procedure. Handling the largest 4’ x 10’ commercial door is essentially the same, except those doors are lifted 20” above the floor measured from the door’s bottom edge.
The major benefit of using our ergonomic lifter in this application was that it removed several technicians from the process. It also eliminated any double handling these technicians experienced while using their current handling devices. Thomas Conveyor & Equipment Company found solutions to meet all these requirements.
Thomas Conveyor is an authorized and factory trained distributor of Lift-O-Flex ergonomic lifters. As described above, these lifters are specifically designed and manufactured to suit each application no matter how stringent. They are lightweight and precision built, featuring a manual transverse and battery operated lift/rotate features. Each lifter can be supplied with customized tooling allowing a variety of methods for grasping, lifting, turning and rotating.
A manual foot operated three position central brake system allows for the rear casters to be set at either freewheeling swivel or locked for single directional travel. These lifters are available in the standard powder coated/aluminum anodized construction or is stainless steel wipe or washdown versions.
The next time you encounter an impossible product handling application contact Thomas Conveyor & Equipment Company at 844-220-0086 for the right solution. Our systems integrators have the expertise to help you with your ergonomic lifting application.