Plate Handling

Description

Intended Use

Magnetic lifting is the easiest, fastest and most economical method of handling steel plate.

Features

Properly designed lift magnets can lift single plates from a stack to load Plasma & Laser cutting machines. Also these systems can lift multiple plates for loading / unloading vehicles.  One crane or truck operator can usually load, transport and unload plates

Applications

Various magnet designs can be utilized for lifting steel plates, depending on the orientation (vertical, or horizontal), the thickness of the steel, the size and weight of the plate & its temperature. These magnets are available in two basic designs, electro-magnets and electro-permanent magnets. Electro-magnets are the traditional design that requires a constant source of D.C. power when energized. These magnets tend to perform well in applications where the surface condition of the plate is irregular. Pound for pound, electro-magnets will provide the greatest lift to weight ratio of any type of magnet, thus crane capacity can be optimized.

Electro-permanent magnets utilize permanent magnetic material surrounded by an electrically powered coil. To energize an electro-permanent magnet, a momentary pulse of D. C. power is applied to the magnet’s coil in order to charge the permanent magnetic material within. Once energized, the electro-permanent magnet does not require a constant source of power to retain the lifted steel plate. To release the steel plate, a reverse pulse of D. C. power is applied to the magnet’s coil. The Electro-permanent magnet design tends to excel when the steel plate air gap is kept to a minimum.