How to reliably and safely move 50kg half a meter?
September 29, 2009 7:58 AM Subscribe
Every day I need to transfer a piece of equipment from a dolly to
another piece of equipment. It weighs about 50 kg (~100 lbs). How can
I do this safely and with minimal strain?
The setup consists of a box (about half the size of a minifridge) which, when in use, contains an animal, so it must be treated extremely gently. The box is normally transported while sitting on its rolling dolly. The box needs to be removed from the dolly and placed on a support plate a few inches off the floor.
I purchased a shop lift to help me move it, but unfortunately it turns out the shop lift doesn't go down far enough. And I haven't found any available for purchase that do.
I would like to make, or (extremely preferably) purchase something that will help me move the box from the dolly to the plate with minimal effort on my part (I have a herniated disc, so lifting 50kg twice a day has been really bad for me).
Any suggestions? The main constraints here are that the transfer must be extremely gentle and safe - there can be absolutely no chance whatsoever that it would be dropped or tipped over.
The setup consists of a box (about half the size of a minifridge) which, when in use, contains an animal, so it must be treated extremely gently. The box is normally transported while sitting on its rolling dolly. The box needs to be removed from the dolly and placed on a support plate a few inches off the floor.
I purchased a shop lift to help me move it, but unfortunately it turns out the shop lift doesn't go down far enough. And I haven't found any available for purchase that do.
I would like to make, or (extremely preferably) purchase something that will help me move the box from the dolly to the plate with minimal effort on my part (I have a herniated disc, so lifting 50kg twice a day has been really bad for me).
Any suggestions? The main constraints here are that the transfer must be extremely gentle and safe - there can be absolutely no chance whatsoever that it would be dropped or tipped over.
Best answer: It looks from the picture like you have the capability (one way or another) to fabricate equipment. I'd be tempted to build a ramp with delrin rails and a sled that was angled on the bottom and flat on top (to keep the box level as it slides down). If you set it up right you could have the ramp hit the floor right at the lower plate, and have the sled be 14.5cm tall on the high side, so you could then slide right across onto the plate. You could have an equivalent setup on the loading side.
A little more delrin on the cart would make it easy to slide across onto the sled. You'd also need a stop of some kind to keep the sled at the top while you loaded it, but that's pretty easy to do.
A hack machinist like me would to be able to cobble something like this together in under a day.
posted by range at 8:23 AM on September 29, 2009
A little more delrin on the cart would make it easy to slide across onto the sled. You'd also need a stop of some kind to keep the sled at the top while you loaded it, but that's pretty easy to do.
A hack machinist like me would to be able to cobble something like this together in under a day.
posted by range at 8:23 AM on September 29, 2009
Alternatively, you ought to be able to bolt something onto the shop lift that is lower (i.e. a bracket that hangs down on one side). Depending on the weight of the shop lift, you might need to add outrigger legs for stability. Still, if the shop lift will go HIGHER than you need, that can work.
posted by JMOZ at 8:33 AM on September 29, 2009
posted by JMOZ at 8:33 AM on September 29, 2009
Oooo, that Genie load lifter looks neat.
It seems like some sort of sling with an overhead winch would work.
If this were at my house, the solution would almost certainly involve a come-along.
posted by SLC Mom at 8:35 AM on September 29, 2009
It seems like some sort of sling with an overhead winch would work.
If this were at my house, the solution would almost certainly involve a come-along.
posted by SLC Mom at 8:35 AM on September 29, 2009
Response by poster: Re come-along / tool balancers - it must be lifted from the bottom. We can't hang anything from the ceiling, and the box is not meant to be supported from above.
posted by dmd at 8:59 AM on September 29, 2009
posted by dmd at 8:59 AM on September 29, 2009
Maybe something like an engine hoist, lifting the box with a sling?
It'd need to be custom-made, I'm sure, given the clearances involved, but a little custom-made "crane" like that might do the trick.
posted by chazlarson at 9:33 AM on September 29, 2009
It'd need to be custom-made, I'm sure, given the clearances involved, but a little custom-made "crane" like that might do the trick.
posted by chazlarson at 9:33 AM on September 29, 2009
I see that the dolly and the plate are fixed items, but can you raise the cabinet that the plate is in by 14.5cm?
posted by kuujjuarapik at 9:34 AM on September 29, 2009
posted by kuujjuarapik at 9:34 AM on September 29, 2009
Best answer: You need a low profile lift table.
3" collapsed height and 24X33 platform size.
These ones have a very large platform.
This variety have collapsed heights of as little as 5" and tables as small as 20"X26"
All of these are stationary but you could add low profile casters or frame casters to them if you need them to move.
posted by Mitheral at 10:01 AM on September 29, 2009
3" collapsed height and 24X33 platform size.
These ones have a very large platform.
This variety have collapsed heights of as little as 5" and tables as small as 20"X26"
All of these are stationary but you could add low profile casters or frame casters to them if you need them to move.
posted by Mitheral at 10:01 AM on September 29, 2009
Can you pull the wheels off the shop lift and replace them with furniture sliders? That might simplify the problem to raising the shop lift up. The downside is sliders won't have any kind of brake mechanism and you would need to do something about that.
posted by chairface at 12:45 PM on September 29, 2009
posted by chairface at 12:45 PM on September 29, 2009
Response by poster: Thanks everyone... it looks like I just needed to find a lower profile lift table!
posted by dmd at 1:02 PM on September 29, 2009
posted by dmd at 1:02 PM on September 29, 2009
Mod note: removed image links at poster's request.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 1:39 PM on September 29, 2009
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 1:39 PM on September 29, 2009
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posted by dmd at 8:01 AM on September 29, 2009