Tuesday 16 September 2014

Permanent Lifting Magnets – Can Increase Productivity

Where there is frequent lifting and movement of iron and steel items and tools, like a construction site, Permanent Lifting Magnets, come to the rescue of the workforce. It helps pick up materials in a variety of shapes, especially around and in the form of tubes. The use of Permanent Lifting Magnets helps you reduce the manual lifting work for the workforce and thereby increase productivity. Equally important, in remote construction sites, it might not be feasible to use overhead travelling cranes to shift heavy stuff. In many work sites, there may not be space enough for the OHT cranes as well. In such locations, these lifting magnets could be a very useful material handling equipment.

Capacity and Safety

Though there are various capacities for which the lifting magnets are manufactured, the normal lifting capacity ranges from 120 kgs to 2 tons. And the magnets fitted in the lifting equipments, are generally of a rating, much higher, around 2 to 3 times the machine’s lifting capacity. To make it simpler, if a lifting magnet has a rating of 500 kgs, the magnet inside is actually capable of lifting up to 150 kgs. This is done to ensure that the safety of the people in the workplace is protected and no room for risk is given.
  
Many Advantages

Permanent Lifting Magnets are also advantageous in the sense that they are dependent on power, or they don't run on batteries, which need recharging. In a typical powered lifting arrangement, there is a threat of the object falling if there is a sudden power disruption, though some of them do come into an arrangement to hold it for a few minutes before a standby power is restored. However, here no such risk exists.

What’s more, being a permanent magnet, its magnetic power lasts a very long period and gives you very little worry in maintaining it. The lifting magnet has a very simple mechanism and even semi-skilled  operators in your factory can handle it. An on/off handle is all it needs to operate or disengage the magnet. For example, if a steel plate is to be shifted, you place the lifting magnet on it and shift the lever to ‘ON’ and if the hook is lifted, slightly, it will show the plate being lifted. Once you reach the destination where it is to be placed, the lever is pulled in the reverse direction to ‘OFF’

One of the aspects, you might want to check with the manufacturer of these lifting magnets, is the basic material with which the magnets are constructed. Rare-earth magnets are the most popularly preferred ones.