The ezzFAST vacuum lifter from Best Handling Technology is used wherever speed is of the essence. With it, goods can be moved and handled quickly, safely and ergonomically. Vacuum lifters are used in particular for loading and unloading processes, as well as for reloading, palletizing and order picking. Typical containers that the ezzFAST can move in a matter of seconds are sacks, cardboard boxes and barrels, buckets, boxes, sheets and boards as well as rolls and coils.
For a wide range of handling tasks, the ezzFAST can be equipped with grippers that are optimized for the application. For example, bags are handled with a large volume suction device. If the bags are not tight, e.g. made of fabric, a suction cup with additional claws can be used instead. A pneumatic gripper, also designed for Ex areas, is suitable for particularly difficult bag gripping processes.
In this application example, the ezzFAST vacuum lifter is used for handling granulates in Atex Zone 2 T3. In a manufacturing process in the chemical industry, waxy granules are to be emptied into a mixer. The special feature: there is a risk of explosion in the work environment.
The granules are packed in plastic bags. These are in cardboard hobbocks. Since the granulate has a consistency that resembles wax chips, the granulate compacts during transport. It is therefore difficult to pull the plastic bags out of the hobbock. Two employees have to hold the hobbock and pull on the plastic bag. However, if you pull it jerkily, there is a risk of tearing open the bag.
The handling task has been improved with the help of an ezzFAST in ATEX design (EX II 2 G IIB T3). The ezzFAST is equipped with a vacuum lifter with pneumatic grippers. The bags are very elastic, so they cannot be sucked in with a vacuum. The gripping pliers grip so well that they grasp the material under the closure of the bag and can pull it out of the hobbock.
The plastic bag is slowly pulled out of the hobbock as the pulling force increases continuously. An employee holds the hobbock. The lifting tube is conductively connected to the grab and the crane with its metal spiral. The vacuum connection hose is made of conductive material. A grounding cable from the gripper goes through the lifting hose, through the vacuum connection hose to the steel structure of the building. An antistatic filter with ATEX approval was used. Likewise a pneumatic vacuum pump without an ignition source.
The vacuum lifter is mounted on an ezzLINKeco slewing crane, which is equipped with a conductive carriage with bronze rollers.
The hobbocks have a diameter of 500 mm and a height of 860 mm. The filling quantity of the hobbocks is 25 kg.