Control Unit:

• 2 pushbuttons for 90°rotation
• 2 pushbuttons for 90° tilting
• 1 grip pushbutton
• 1 release pushbutton
• 1 sensitive handle L=250 mm. to allow easy ascent and descent
• 1 STOP pushbutton

Ergonomics:

Thanks to the INDEVA® automatic balancing system, up/down movements and load positioning are exceptionally smooth, fast and precise: with almost no effort (about 300 g), the operator can easily and ergonomically lift panels up to 250 kg.

Four standard handle sizes are available to suit different applications and ensure ergonomic arm and hand positions at all times.

The reel has to be picked from vertical position at about 1m height and released unto the machine in horizontal position (release height about 1m).

A ceiling mounted INDEVA® model Liftronic® with articulated arm, complete with gripping tooling by vacuum. The tooling features two lines of vacuum cups mounted on a frame with adjustable width to suit reels of different diameter. The tooling can be exchanged with a mechanical chuck that grips reels from the outside.

The INDEVA® allows intuitive handling of reels of different weights. No adjustments when weight changes; the rope system allows for flexible movements, being electronic it is much more compact than pneumatic systems and allows for greater visibility.

The reel has to be picked in horizontal position from the machine, then rotated by 90° and placed unto a pallet up to 2300 mm height, in vertical position.

A large company in the pharmaceutical industry have to handle trays filled with glass containers: about 30 trays per hour have to be picked from the filling machines and released unto a trolley.

This operation was carried out manually by means of women operators.

At the end of their work shift the workers couldn’t keep the same work pace as at the beginning, thus decreasing overall productivity. Productivity needed to be kept constant and handling operations fluid and quick.

The trays weigh maximum 25 kg, but each tray has a different weight, therefore a traditional pneumatic manipulator wasn’t suitable, because it can’t get adjusted to different load weights automatically and in real time.

A traditional hoist was not suitable as well because it requires to keep a button pressed for the up/down movements and has a fixed speed, resulting too slow.

A Company that manufactures parts for the Aerospace industry needs to pickle metal parts.

This manufacturing stage needed a load handling system for picking, rotating and moving metal crates containing the metal parts to be pickled.

The required material handling solution needed to perform the entire work cycle in a safe manner and at the same time allowing for speed and ease of move, so that this repetitive task could be carried out efficiently and with the least possible effort.

Main issues to consider for handling metal crates at this production stage:

• The weight of the metal crates with the metal parts to pickle ranges from 20 to 40 kg.
• The metal crates must be rotated by 180° in order to empty their content.
• The worker handling the metal crates must be safeguarded against the high temperature of metal parts at the pickling stage.

To assembly lawnmowers a Company needed two workers who manually had to pick, lift, rotate by 180° and precisely position the product (weighing 30 kg) on the assembly line: this operation required consistent physical strain with non ergonomic movements for the two workers, with consequent risk of product damage and cumulative trauma injuries. Furthermore the tack time could never be achieved.

It was necessary to adopt a lift assist system to enhance productivity, achieve the tack time and at the same time improve safety for the operators. Traditional manipulators and lift assist devices such as hoists. A traditional pneumatic manipulator or a hoist was not a suitable solution mainly for the following reasons:

• The lawnmowers are of six different types each with a different size and weight and they arrive to the operator on the assembly line with no regular sequence; the pneumatic manipulators are not auto weight sense and auto balancing, but need regulation or selection of the load setting each time a new weight has to be picked up.

A Company producing earth work machines was used to have chain hoists for handling hydraulic cylinders at the paint line.

The hoist end effector by a hook presented hazards to safety and ergonomics. The risk of cylinder accidental fall and injure for operators was high. The need for the operator to constantly keep the hoist button pressed for the lifting operation forced him to a non ergonomic, unhealthy position.

The solution required by this Company had to guarantee full safety against load fall and better ergonomics in favour of the operator and at the same time improve productivity in the long run.

An INDEVA® Liftronic® is the solution that satisfied such a demand. A zero gravity self balancing system (electronic balancer) with an end effector equipped with pneumatic jaws and 90° rotation device for turning the cylinders from horizontal to vertical position.

A Company manufacturing trolleys for shop floor material handling needed a lift assist device for handling 46 different types of large trolleys at the sealing stage of their production line.

Loads to be handled: 46 diferent types of large trolleys for Food Industry:
• 31 types of large sliding trolleys
• 5 types of large trolleys for carrying dishes
• 10 types of large trolleys for table serving

Their weight ranges from 12 to 38 kg.

All large trolleys are picked in horizontal position from either one of the 3 sealing machines.

The trolley must then be rotated by 90/180° and released onto the floor or, depending on the trolley type, piled one on top of another.

Load handling unit requirements:
• Possibility to handle all large trolleys types with only one lift assist device.
• The lifting device must be especially user friendly in order to allow workers with no experience to use it.
• Ergonomic design.
• Maximum safety against load drop and against sudden and uncontrolled movements of the gripping tool.

Companies producing sausages and hams are generally equipped with automatic lines that end with a packaging machine for packing the hams into a plastic net, as the machie s produced by Tecnobrianza in Italy.

Every 20 seconds, the packaging machine releases 1 hanger with 4 bresaole. The worker has to pick up the hanger and place it on a cart. The weight of each bresaola varies from 4 kg to 12 kg each for a total weight of the hanger to be handled ranging from about 17 to 49 kg including the weight of the empty hanger.

Each day it is necessary to lift and move about 4500/5000 bresaolas; given the high weight of the load to be handled, the frequency and speed with which the operation is to be performed, it is necessary to equip the workplace of a manual load handling aid in order to reduce the effort for the operator and to ensure safety and ergonomics.