Material Handling constitutes virtually anything that requires some form of movement within today’s industrial world. This can range from small palletized items thru to large industrial machines.
Some of the best material handling equipment that has become available in recent years is the use of air powered load and machine moving systems. Harnessing the use of compressed air – which is found in most industrial locations – can produce tremendous lifting power that leaves overhead cranes and forklift trucks in its dust.
Using load and machine moving systems with this tremendous lifting power is accomplished via the use of Air Casters. Incorporated into the base of air casters are the real powerhouse of the system… air bearings, and it is the air bearings that cause this material handling equipment to lift its loads and heavy machines away from the floor surface into a state of flotation. Below are two examples of air casters, both developed and manufactured by Hovair Systems who have been moving heavy machines in the material handling equipment world for over 40 years.
The left image shows examples of round steel air casters which are generally used when needed to be permanently fitted to the underside of the machine or load. The right image is of square aluminum air casters which are much lighter and used in every day use around factories and warehouse around the world.
Above you can see images of both round steel and square aluminum air casters with valves, and their undersides showing the incorporated air bearing unit.
Heavy loads and machinery are being constantly moved around in industrial locations around the world, and while many forklift trucks do not have the muscle to move the heavier models, Hovair Systems material handling equipment does. You can move loads between 1 and 100 tons and beyond safely and easily using these powerful air caster machine moving systems. Here are two machines that have been suitably rigged with Hovair air caster load moving systems.
With the machine safely on board the air caster modules, it is now ready to be moved as shown here above. Here are two machines that are all rigged up and ready to be moved. One is a small one that is going to a clean room application and the other is a large caterpillar machine being moved for testing.
Hovair Systems material handling equipment is probably the best and easiest way to move heavy machines and loads. Oh yes! They will not, and cannot, damage your floor surfaces as the machines do not actually touch the floor. They are suspended in a state of flotation and are very safe to use. The machine cannot fall off or topple.
When in operation, Hovair’s machine moving equipment can lift, move and place your machines or other heavy loads with pin-point accuracy down to a sixteenth of an inch, and even into the narrowest of gaps.
This form of load moving is known as air film technology.