The question in this header seems easy to answer. Yes or no? But this isn’t always as easy as it seems. In this article: Why a product can or can not be handled by an Aerolift vacuum lifting solution.
Yes? Don’t look any further. Almost any product with an airtight product can be handled by a vacuum lifting solutions. There are two other requirements: The product must have sufficient inherent strength. For example: we can not lift a shipping container by vacuum, because the vacuum lifter would only lift the roof due to the limited strength of the weld. Beside sufficient inherent strength, the product also needs to have some space to position the suction pad(s). The minimum size of a suction pad is approximately Ø 160 mm.
No problem, not all products we handle are solid as steel plates. Think of concrete, limestone or paper rolls. With our design we are able to consider a certain amount of leakage. All Aerolift vacuum lifters are designed with a so called “hang on” time of at least twenty minutes. This means, in the event of a power failure the lifted product will stay secure for at least twenty minutes. This is one of our safety precautions which ensures safe lifting no matter the weight of the product. Even if you lift up to tens of tons.
If your product is not airtight, we need more information about the density of your product. In case of any doubt about the density of your product, we ask you to send a sample. We will perform some tests to ensure if the product can safely be handled by vacuum.
All our designs are based on the principle of creating a high vacuum. An enclosed space without leakage over suction pad, system, pumps or valves. Suction takes seconds after which the vacuum pump turns off. Due to the closed system without leakage, even in case of a power failure the enclosed space stays intact and the vacuum stays strong. To simplify this, we say: “Our vacuum lifter is no vacuum cleaner…” The Aerolift vacuum lifters do not operate constantly under vacuum.
Would you like to handle a product with a rough or uneven surface? No problem! Contrary to what is often believed, the surface does not need to be perfectly flat, smooth or free of bumps. This is possible due to the exclusive Aerolift rubber, which offers an optimum seal for the suction pads. The rubber is specially produced for the Aerolift lifting equipment. Unlike neoprene the natural Aerolift rubber is easy to reform. If your product has a rough or uneven surface the rubber will reform to match the surface. This feature ensures a perfect seal. After releasing the rubber returns to its original shape in seconds.
Over the years we also designed several lifting solutions for several industries which are not based on vacuum technology. Mainly the product could not be handled by vacuum because the surface was not airtight. Still the customer asked Aerolift to design a lifting solution. Due to this kind of requests we designed several lifting solutions without vacuum. So, no matter if your product is airtight or not, contact the Aerolift team for a perfectly fitting lifting solution.
Contact our experienced Aerolift team to discuss the possilibities to handled you product by an Aerolift vacuum lifting solution.
