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Las Vegas based slot machine manufacturer receives LCD display panels from their vendor in a flat, horizontal orientation in cardboard boxes. When they arrive in the assembly area, the 55 lb panels need to be lifted out of the box, pitched 90 degrees about the horizontal axis, then pitched 15 degrees about the Z axis in order to match the recess angle on the cabinet. Once lifted and rotated into position, the LCD mounting holes need to be aligned with the hinges in the cabinet prior to installing the fasteners.

Solution

We coupled our PLC controlled, servo-drive lifter with vacuum based, pneumatically powered end tooling to provide the functions needed by the operators for panel installation. Once raised and rotated, float mode is utilized for the precise alignment needed for installing the panel to the cabinet hinges.

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Brewery bottlers require roll lifters to raise and rotate rolls of beer bottle labels and insert them onto an unwind spindle. The rolls arrive in the workstation area in a core-vertical (eye to the sky) presentation, must be lifted and inserted onto the spindle in a core-horizontal orientation. The rolls are wrapped “loose” and operators need to handle the product carefully so as to avoid telescoping.

Solution

Our battery operated mobile roll lifters are provided which probes the core of the roll while in the core-vertical position, raises and rotates the load and is controlled via an operator hand controller. Telescoping of the roll is prevented by a pair of single lever compression clamps around the roll lifts probe; the clamp surface is designed so as to prevent any label damage. Roll handling carts are provided on casters and can be taken to all of the unwind machine locations.

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Operators at U.S. Army arsenal locations are required to load artillery projectiles with various materials depending upon the specific application for the shells. This particular facility loads 155 mm howitzer shell casings with specific materials designed to illuminate a battlefield at night, designating these shells as illumination projectiles. At the arsenal, the operators receive a pallet of (8) shells in an upright position adjacent to a conveyor. They need to reach over and pick, raise then rotate the shells 180° for the loading process; after loading, the shells are rotated back 180° and placed on the shipping pallet.

Solution

The all-pneumatic lifters are designed to be suspended from the existing hoist units. Due to the sensitive nature of the product, the lifters incorporate several safety features including a failsafe holding system in the event of power (compressed air) loss and a load cell release interlock (preventing the gripper jaws from opening until the shell had been placed in the appropriate cradle).

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A Midwest manufacturer of modular fireplace boxes utilized an assembly process that required operators to manually lift 75 lb faux brick panels, turn them 90° and place them inside the box by reaching over the work bench and into the box. This was a source of chronic back and shoulder injuries to the operators.

Solution

A rigid mast system with custom lifting head was designed to lift and electrically manipulate the panels to the proper orientation. The cantilevered tooling provided the necessary reach-in capabilities so as to allow the operators to effortlessly manipulate the panels and maneuver them to the sides and rear of the boxes. The vacuum head design accommodates the various deep-groove brick pattern faces, allowing the operators to handle all of their panels without tooling change-outs. In addition to substantial injury reduction statistics, the customer has seen productivity improvements and has opened the job description to all employees.

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A Midwest wheel manufacturer was handling 40 pound aluminum wheels by hand and palletizing them from a conveyor. A system was needed to alleviate the repetitive stress injuries occurring to their operators during this process while maintaining productivity/tact times.

Solution

A high-speed, servo drive PLC controlled lifter was fitted with a custom, pneumatically operated probe-style tool. This device allows the operators to pick, move and place the wheels as quickly as if doing them by hand. The tooling incorporated non-marring ID grippers so as to not affect the mirror finish on the wheels. In addition to reducing recordable injury statistics, the customer has been able to broaden the workforce qualified to work at this position.

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CNC machine loading/unloading typically requires the manual handling of heavy components into and out of the machine center. In addition to requiring operators to reach over and into the machine, alignment with the work holding chucks often requires precise placement. This is a major source of operator injury and product damage.

Solution

Depending upon the type of product being handled in the machine center (round stock, rectangular billet, etc.), a variety of custom tools are used for handling the parts. These tools are coupled with our servo-drive, plc controlled lifter; combined with “float mode” the operators are given ultimate control of the part — very high speeds when desired, very slow speeds when desired, and the zero-gravity, levitating capabilities of float mode.

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