Gantry cranes are excellent solutions for providing lifting assistance to multiple areas of your facility. These solutions can provide this assistance to different areas because of their mobility both with and without attached loads.
Below we take a look at one of the many applications where a gantry crane can improve the process as a whole, the automotive industry.
Lifting Assistance in the Automotive Industry
In the automotive industry smaller, mobile lifting solutions are a popular commodity as they provide lifting assistance for vehicles, engines, parts, and much more.
An engine hoist is a common lifting solution found in many garages and facilities in the automotive sector. These solutions usually consist of wheeled bases, posts, and cantilever arms with the base making use of extending legs that slide under equipment to allow stability for the lifting mechanism. These hoists are tasked with lifting engines out of vehicles and keeping them at an ergonomic height in order for work to be performed by staff members.
While engine hoists are sufficient for many types of engine swaps they can still run into issues when facing certain vehicles such as trucks or vehicles with longer hoods. In these cases, the engine hoist can become obsolete and lead to employees requiring a different method for lifting the engine. This costs valuable time and resources, where a universal solution would negate the need for these additional efforts.
Engine hoists also become difficult to maneuver when loaded as small wheels can’t support the load the hoist is taking on. Also, if any small pieces or tools fall to the ground, they can get in the way of these wheels halting movement completely.
Utilizing Spanco Aluminum Gantry Cranes
A solution that solves a lot of the issues engine hoists run into is an aluminum gantry crane. A gantry crane with a 10-foot span and 10-foot beam height can easily fit over many cars, trucks, and other vehicles providing proper versatility with one solution.
Spanco, Inc. manufactures aluminum gantry cranes that are easy to move across warehouse or garage-style floors, and light enough for a single person to move it by hand, even with a load attached. Spanco makes use of low-friction polyurethane casters that provide easy movement and make it less likely for the crane to get hung up on small pieces/tools on the facility floor.
A Multifaceted Asset
A gantry crane is more than just a replacement to an engine hoist for automotive facilities. It can be equipped with pneumatic tires in order to operate outside, used in multiple processes or repairs around the facility, and utilized to move heavy equipment to different areas with ease. These solutions can be key solutions in an over encompassing process instead of just a piece of a specific station.
To learn more about aluminum gantry cranes visit Spanco’s website or take a look at one of their case studies where they talked to a Pennsylvania automotive garage, and their ways of using a gantry crane to benefit their work processes.