Twice as strong: vacuum lifter with needle grippers for wood and soft fibre boards
Companies in the prefabricated house sector such as construction companies, carpenters, facade builders but also their suppliers are always faced with the same problem: very heavy, unwieldy but sensitive panel materials have to be transported within the production hall for further processing. These materials differ extremely in their properties. Wooden boards such as OSB, MDF or chipboard are very heavy and can only be moved manually by several employees. Plasterboard, soft fibre boards and other insulating materials must also be transported, whereby particular care must be taken: these materials are sometimes very fragile and therefore not easy to handle.
So how do you manage to transport these different boards in a way that is as gentle on the materials and employees as possible, while remaining as flexible as possible? AERO-LIFT recently combined two particularly common technologies into one ingenious solution: vacuum and needle gripper technology in one device.
For years, vacuum technology from AERO-LIFT has proven itself when it comes to handling airtight but also porous materials. The AERO-PORO reliably sucks up porous plates up to 900kg which at first sight cannot be lifted. The trick: A blower is used to generate the vacuum. This has a special trailing flywheel mass to hold the load safely for a while even in case of power failure. Thus the AERO-PORO has a high value in the wood industry.
But vacuum technology reaches its limits when it comes to very air-permeable transport goods. Soft fibre boards or other insulating elements are so porous that a closed vacuum circuit cannot be created. In this case, mechanical needle grippers are often used in the construction industry.
The AERO-LIFT combination device combines these transport solutions into one and masters the challenge of the material mix. In companies that lift many different sheet materials, this ensures high added value, gentle material handling and ergonomic, hazard-free operation. Switching between applications is done quickly and without tools: A safety lever is used to turn the four needle gripper modules through 180° by hand. The needles do not extend until the unit has been placed on the material to be transported and activated by a lever on the operating handle. Other intelligent features such as the adjustable suction plates or the extended operating handle ensure simple, user-friendly and fast operation.