Industry: Construction & Mining Application: Handling Hydraulic Cylinder Pins During Heat Treatment Process Solution: Work Station Cranes with Q GForce ® 660 lb. capacity Provider: Gorbel Inc.

Finding an appropriate solution for this application was particularly difficult not only due to the wide size variety of parts being lifted, but also because of the intense heat generated by the furnace. To keep the operator safe, the lifting solution needed to have the ability to reach into the furnace while also withstanding the heat coming from the open furnace door.

“It’s pretty darn hot,” said the company’s Health & Safety Engineer. “Inside the furnace it’s 1600 degrees Fahrenheit. When that door opens and you’re loading parts in, you want to keep the operator at a safe distance and you need to be sure any equipment you’re using can take the heat.”

When the search for a new solution began, one of the primary requirements was that it be a servo-controlled device to allow the precision placement necessary when picking and placing the pins onto fixtures in the furnace. “We’re trying to switch everything over to servo from our older hoists because of how much easier it is for us to handle the parts. That’s been an initiative of ours for the past 3 years.“

Having several other intelligent assist devices in their facility, the company again chose a Gorbel G-Force® unit with 660 lb capacity with a remote mounted pendent control handle. The unit was mounted on a custom manipulator and carriage featuring a heat shield on the face of the actuator to protect the unit from the furnace’s intense heat. At the helm of the system, an operator is able to control the up and down motion of the unit with one hand, and the furnace and quench machine doors with the other while maintaining a safe distance from the intense heat.

is a proud member of the EASE Ergonomic Assist Systems & Equipment Council
of Material Handling Industry of America

600 Fishers Run Fishers, NY 14453-0596 Phone: 800/821-0086 Fax: 800/828-1808
Email: info@gorbel.com Website: www.gorbel.com