Below-The-Hook Handling & Manipulation Solutions

Bombardier Aviation tail wing rotation rig

• Carefully automated chain hoists provide controlled and accurate rotation of large, valuable tail wing assemblies
• Control is via a remote pendant, allowing the operator to take a wider view of the wing manipulations
• The entire system is weight-optimised and suspended from the existing overhead travelling crane, helping to maximise ROI of existing infrastructure

Advanced high integrity grapple for a UK nuclear licenced site

• The motorised grapple interfaces securely with cylinders of radioactive low level waste (LLW) material
• Numerous EC&I devices are equipped including CCTV cameras, a bar code reader, various field sensors, limit switches and enclosures
• The large slewing ring and latching grab are all electrically powered to remove the risk of fluid spills

Rolls-Royce jet engine transporter system

• Two bespoke frames were engineered to enhance existing lifting operations
• Equipped with load cells, sensors and locks, the frames feed back information to the Rolls-Royce SCADA desk
• The design is weight-optimised and symmetrical, reducing stress on the existing runway and allowing identical operation in both forward and reverse orientations

Production line pick-and-place grapples

• Combining bespoke mechanical design with intelligent EC&I systems, the grapples maximise space with safe automated operation
• Articulated hooks solve the problem of limited headroom, while latching mechanisms securely hold the 2.5-tonne paper rolls
• An inventory mapping system knows which rolls to pick first, depending on the required paper specification

BAE Systems post-furnace wing handling system

• Following a hot, blow-moulded process, delicate Eurofighter wings need to be extracted from the furnace
• The system is designed to withstand temperatures of up to 1100°C, whilst gently manipulating the wings
• The forklift-inspired design can not only raise and lower the wings, but slew around for additional handling versatility

ILW box and 500-litre drum handling grapples

• Installed at a number of UK nuclear licensed sites, these bespoke grapples are designed to interface with various boxes and drums of intermediate level waste (ILW)
• The grapples rotate into position to counter any positional errors as drums arrive from upstream processes
• Twistlocks engage with the drum and ensure a solid mechanical interface before allowing any lifting operations

West Sussex MBT energy-from-waste grabs

• Our client required a semi-automated crane solution to help them segregate waste more intelligently
• Two cranes were equipped with large capacity ‘orange peel’ grabs capable of holding 10m3 of waste material
• The grabs relay load data via load cells and are kept safe via anti-collision and anti-sway features

Sellafield integrated mast & crane waste retrieval rig

• Sellafield’s waste pits contain both irradiated sludge and intermediate level waste (ILW) material
• Access to the pits is extremely restrictive, the only entrance being a small hatch in the pit ceiling
• The remote-controlled mast lowers the hydraulic manipulator arm through the hatch, where it extends to perform retrieval or size reduction tasks, before extracting the waste

Bespoke pintle and rotating hook

• In order to achieve a solid yet easily detachable mechanical interface with the grapple, a bespoke pintle was designed to sit below a rotating hook
• A CCTV camera feeds a live image of the pintle to the control desk, allowing for precise positioning
• Cable reelers follow the rise and fall of the motorised rotating hook, carefully engineered to avoid obstructing any lifting motions