Background
A manufacturer of insulated power and control cables for use in consumer electronics, aerospace and petrochemical industries was experiencing a drag in productivity and risking injury in its “bunching”
application.
The Problem
Full spools of wire are loaded onto one end of the “buncher” machine, which feeds a specified length of cable to fill a customer order into an empty spool. Operators were using an old portable lift with a hand crank winch that helped with the lifting and lowering. However, it still required the operator to push the heavy load onto the turnstile of the machine, an injury risk and source of plenty of worker fatigue.
The Solution
The company decided that a Gorbel freestanding workstation bridge crane was the most attractive solution. The bridge crane installed has runways that are 43 feet long with two 1000 pound capacity bridges with a 28 foot span. “It was a combination of work cell coverage and ease of movement,” said the Process Manager. “It gave us the most flexibility, and allows multiple work bays to be served by one crane.”