Ergonomic Manipulator Allows One Operator to Handle Heavy Loads

Sigco, Inc., an architectural-metal and glass fabricator in Westbrook, ME, recently went in search of an ergonomic manipulator that would adequately address employee-safety concerns while enhancing productivity by being able to handle a wide variety of products, including large, heavy sheetmetal blanks. The result of its search: acquisition of five pneumatically powered 550-lb.-capacity Famatec Friendly ergonomic manipulators from Haeco, Loveland, OH.

“The manipulators precisely counterbalance heavy loads,” says Sigco operations manager Jason Tardiff, “allowing one operator to effortlessly suspend, rotate, tilt and transfer product. The units have eliminated worker fatigue and injury as a result of manual lifting.”

The firm once required as many as five employees to handle 500-lb. components; now, one operator using a Famatec Friendly manipulator can perform the task. Further, Tardiff explains that an operator can move product more quickly compared to using a previously employed traditional jib crane, which often resulted in awkward movements and swinging of the product.

Haeco offers Famatec Friendly manipulators with load capacity to 1100 lb., a working radius to 20 ft., and with a range of mounting options including column, overhead, track, wheeled or with a free-standing fork-truck transportable base.

See also: Haeco/Famatec

Technologies: Pressroom Automation

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