Case Study - Cylinder and Stillage Handling
Sidetracker multi-direction reach
trucks are providing exceptionally versatile handling solutions
for one of the UK's leading gravure printers.
Not only have the trucks solved the problem of carrying long
printing cylinders in confined spaces, they are also used to
carry stillages around the company's works.
Polestar Varnicote ordered specially designed Sidetrackers
to carry the cylinders between the etching department and a new
gravure press, one of the biggest in Europe. The print works,
are extensive, and the route involves narrow corridors and openings
which the cylinders could not pass through on a conventional
lift truck. To allow for low doorways, mast closed height is
only 2.2 metres.
To enable the trucks to carry the delicate print cylinders
and also handle stillages, custom-built fork carriages, 4220mm
long, have been fitted which incorporate pick-up arms for the
cylinders and conventional forks for stillages.
When print cylinders are being carried, the forks are pivotted
out of the way in the vertical position. To carry stillages,
the forks are pivotted to the horizontal position and the pick-up
arms rotated so they are parallel to the fork carriage and clear
of the load. The pick-up arms have powered spread adjustment
to ensure the various lengths of cylinder are lifted correctly.
The Sidetrackers' steering system enables them to turn within
their own diameter and travel in any direction, giving a high
degree of manoeuvrability in confined spaces.
