Case Study: Fluid Cylinder Production


Butterfly Upender Tilted

The Requirement

A global industrial equipment manufacturer required access to all sides of a die cast for fluid cylinders during its production. They had limited floor space to handle this phase of production and required a solution with a small footprint, not only due to the space requirements, but also to maximize the efficiency of production by removing unneeded transportation. They did not want to rotate the product below the hook due to safety concerns.

The Solution

A "Butterfly" type upender was custom engineered and fabricated to meet the requirements of the application. The term "Butterfly" is used to describe the potential motion of the upender as both decks of the upender can move independent of one another unlike traditional upenders were the decks are welded to one another in a 90° angle. The butterfly upender is loaded by crane in the lowered position. One deck is then raised and the product is conveyed next to the deck while the adjustable back rest secures it in place. Both decks then rotate 90 degrees and are then lowered. The product is conveyed over to the other side and the process repeats itself until the desired amount of rotation is achieved.

Butterfly Upender Raised
Butterfly Upender Lowered
The Butterfly Upender had the following specifications and features:
  • A weight capacity of 4,000 lbs
  • 30" x 33" decks with 2.5" dia. HD rollers on 3" centers, 30"W, 27" between frame
  • (2) center transition rollers
  • 90° independent tilting decks
  • 120 VAC / 1PH / 60Hz remote mounted hydraulic power unit
  • Push button pendant 7 station on 10' cord with E-stop
  • Platform bracket with locking pin
  • Lowered Height: 11.75"
  • Base Length: 73"
  • (2) Adjustable fences to hold products in place

As a result of this custom engineered and fabrication upender, the customer was able to access all sides of the die during production without below hook rotation thereby increasing safety as well as efficiency.

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