ELS transfer cart solves company’s issues with moving heavy die pieces

ELS found the perfect solution for a manufacturing company that had to move die pieces.

Challenging applications are welcome for the expert team at Engineered Lifting Systems & Equipment Inc. (ELS). These veteran providers of lifting and conveying solutions make difficult jobs seem easy. One manufacturing company learned this a few years ago, when it needed a lifting system to move die to a new location in the facility. ELS recommended the perfect transfer cart for the application and solved the issue.

Different weights and sizes

The company was using an overhead crane in a two-piece die-handling process. But the die needed to be transported to a location outside of the crane’s lifting area. These two die pieces were of different weights and sizes; one weighed about 13 tons, and the other was approximately 17 tons, and each had a unique shape and set of dimensions. The employees had to take the pieces down a difficult travel path, through a doorway and some turns.

For a solution, the company came to ELS. First, the customer considered buying a forklift. But the physical size of the equipment did not work with the size of the die pieces, so the idea was abandoned. As an alternative, ELS suggested using a steerable battery-powered transfer cart with a custom deck feature.

This transfer cart had a 20-ton capacity, as well as flip-out panels that were sufficient to accommodate both die halves. To prevent any damage to the pieces from metal-on-metal contact, the cart had UHMW pads lining the fixture and the panels. For power, the cart featured an on-board charger that plugged into a 120-volt wall outlet to recharge the dry cell batteries, which had enough energy for hours of driving time and required no maintenance.

Other features included: a handheld pendant controller for steerable motion control (forward, backward, left, right); warning alarms to alert employees in the cart’s path; a quick-disconnect plug to enable simple pendant cable change-out, with a strain relief to prevent damage from tension; and a remote controller for wireless operation.

The cart suited the task perfectly, and ELS saved the day once again.

To learn more, contact ELS.

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