How Does It Work- Lifting Magnets

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Permanent Lifting magnets are perfect ideal items of lifting gear that make lifting magnetic objects such as steel, easy.

An Eclipse Magnetics Ultra Lift Plus Lifting Magnet works with four safety features, the safety catch, the lifting eye, hand brake release and a ‘safety shim’.

The safety catch locks the handle in the ‘on’ position to ensure that the load remains secure once activated.

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The Lifting Eye is an additional safety catch, once tension is applied the mechanism locks the handle to prevent is from flicking backward and dropping the load. A hand brake release button is used to release the load, it can only be used when the magnet is not in operation due to the lifting eye and safety catch. This can easily be operated with one hand.

Lifting Magnets are a perfect alternative to big bulky chains and slings, no need to rig up your load, simply drop, load and go!

Firstly the load should be Pre-tested, this involves placing the safety shim on the load and lowering the lifting magnet in to place. The magnet is then switched on by rotating the handles 120 degrees anti clockwise.

To ensure the load is fully locked in place the user should check the handle is in position correctly and then lift the load a little just to check, if the load is secure with the safety shim in place a 3:1 safety factor is guaranteed by Eclipse!

To switch the magnet off the load must be returned to the floor, the safety catch and lifting eye prevent unintentional unloading of the magnet. The handbrake must be removed by clicking the top button on the handle (much like a car handbrake but you have to hold the button down) the user then has to push the handle back to release the load and let go of the button.

To now perform a lift using the lifting magnet the user should repeat the process without the use of a safety shim.

Overhead Crane Accident- Always Service Your Crane

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Three men were injured and one crushed to death by overhead crane accident in Arkansas Nuclear One Plant in April 2013.

This is ultimately the responsibility of the company who service the crane who have not been named.

Overhead Crane Collapse

It is important to correctly maintain your overhead crane in order to prevent breakdowns and unnecessary repairs and in some cases like this; fatal accidents.

On this occasion the gantry appears to have snapped, this could be due to a number of factors such as overload, poor engineering, poort maintenance etc.

Safety should never be compromised when lifting and handling heavy loads, UK law and LOLER require cranes to be serviced on a regular basis.

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For more information and advice on Overhead Crane Servicing and Overhead Crane Inspection visit Crane Handling.

Jib Crane Terminology

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Jib Cranes can become slightly confusing when it comes to making your first purchase as factory management it is your responsibility to ensure everything goes to plan, so reading this article will help you get to grips with Swing Jibs and ensure you pick the right one!

Firstly there is the type of Jib Crane, will you be floor mounting or wall mounting?

Donati Swing Jib Crane.

Donati Swing Jib Crane.

Types of Jib Cranes

Free Standing- When specifying a free standing jib crane the jib arm is supported by a floor mounted support, this is secured by chemical anchors that are fitted to the ground and base plate. These can be over-braced or Under-braced, if headroom issues are bound to occur (meaning you do not have enough room above the jib arm to fit the crane) under-braced ensures that the total height of the crane is no taller than the required hook path (height of lift).

Wall Mounted- The name is self explanatory, easily mounted to a wall using fixing stirrups or chemical resin anchors, giving more room on the floor of the production line. Additional height of lift can be achieved at a better cost without the need for tall columns for mounting.

Jib Cranes can have up to 360 degrees of manual or electric slew in order to efficiently and effectively reach material and lift up to 10 Tonnes. For more information and competitive quotations on Donati Swing Jib Cranes please visit Crane Handling.