Portable Lift Tables Take Manufacturing Flexibility to a New level

Build-to-order models and mass customization are becoming more common.  This puts manufacturers under increasing pressure to increase flexibility in their processes. Mobility on the plant floor is one of the ways manufacturers can manage product variability more efficiently. Oftentimes, plant workers need to move parts or products from one cell to another to meet demand shifts.

“Customer needs seem to be changing at a more rapid pace,” says Rick daSilva, Presto ECOA Lifts national sales manager. “Manufacturers are more concerned about improving efficiencies. The ability to relocate equipment and have flexibility within their work cells is critical, especially when you get into certain industries that require frequent changes of packaging.”

Norton, Mass.-based Presto ECOA Lifts produces manually propelled lifts and stackers for in-plant applications. Portable lift tables are ideal for transporting loads to and from work cells, where they can be used as work platforms or raised and lowered to enable load transfer to tables or benches.

Traditionally, scissor lifts are anchored to the floor, or positioned within in a work cell, DaSilva says. Typically, stationary lifts require workers to deliver or remove material from the lift table with a stacker or a forklift. Workers typically don’t move or relocate the lifts unless the operation or function within the work cell changes.

 “A solar vehicle might work fine in the summer season, but in winter, particularly if you’re far from the equator, nights are longer, and there’s not as much sunlight during the day. So you have to carry more batteries, which adds weight and makes the plane bigger,” says R. Joh Hansman, a professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT and a team leader. “For disaster relief, this could only respond to disasters that occur in summer, at low latitude. “A solar vehicle might work fine in the summer season, but in winter, particularly if you’re far from the equator, nights are longer, and there’s not as much sunlight during the day. So you have to carry more batteries, which adds weight and makes the plane bigger,” says R. Joh Hansman, a professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT and a team leader. “For disaster relief, this could only respond to disasters that occur in summer, at low latitude.