Over the years, the product line at United Equipment Accessories (UEA) has evolved from primarily electrical slip rings to include a higher mix of hydraulic swivels. Hydraulic swivels are ever increasing in size and weight.  Along with the usual challenges of developing machining processes for these parts comes a new challenge for UEA. How do we best handle these parts during loading and unloading from the machines and during assembly?

In the space with our large multitask machines where we make most of the rotary manifold parts, three large bridge cranes were designed into the building structure.  These allow for easy handling of parts that could exceed 500 pounds.  Our large cranes can lift 4,000 pounds, so we have the capacity to even move pallets of parts if needed.

However, not all the machine work for these large parts is done on these multitask machines.  Some of the preliminary functions are completed on our large vertical machining center.  Some of these parts can tip the scales at over 400 pounds.  To ensure safety in completing these tasks, we added a new free-standing bridge crane to accommodate these large parts.

In other areas of our machine shop, we have large raw stock and heavy fixtures that must be loaded and unloaded.  The addition of three other free-standing cranes has also made these tasks much easier and safer.  Part of the attraction of these types of cranes is that unlike a column-mounted jib crane, which may or may not work if the machine is relocated, these free-standing units can move with a machine to a new floor plan with very little effort.

These additions make the tasks easier and safer for the UEA employees.

Want to learn more about how we manufacturer hydraulic swivels? Learn more about our rotary union machining capabilities here.