Heavy Duty Turnover Frame
The Problem
The customer wanted to be able to pick up a set of components weighing up to 5 tonnes with only a forklift available. Once the components had been lifted they needed to rotated by 180° to allow for maintenance staff to work on both sides.
Challenges
Whilst working on one set of components each individual piece varied in size, weight and weight distribution. This leads to widely varying centre of gravity locations as well as lift point locations in all 3 planes.
The customer needed to be able to use the equipment to handle and maintain a wide range of component sets all with varying lift point locations.
Once the components have been rotated, maintenance workers require access to the full face of all components on both sides.
The Solution
EDS designed a 2 part solution consisting on a removable inner lift frame and a static floor mounted fixture. This allows for the inner lift frame to be lowered over the component to be lifted and handled with ease before the inner frame is married to the outer frame.
The inner frame was designed with slotted holes to allow for the variability of the lift points between different component sets. It was then fitted with removable fork pockets that can be bolted in place on either side. This allows them to be removed for access requirements as well as allowing for the component to be lifted in a stable manor, even after it has been rotated through 180°.
The inner lift frame was also supplied with a number of adapters to ensure that the solution produced would work with all the components within a set. These also had slotted lift points to allow for variability between sets.
Once the product had been lifted using the inner frame, this frame is then lowered into the outer frame using integral tapered guide for ease of use and secured in place. Through the use of a gearbox and a specially machined adapter the 5000KG components can then rotated either by hand with a ratchet or spanner or by using a battery powered drill fitted with a standard socket.
The combination of inner and outer frames coupled with a range of adapters has allowed for the implementation of a faster, safer process for handling and maintenance of a wide range of components. This has all been achieved without the need for a number of different bespoke fixtures or the installation of expensive overhead crane systems.
