Glazing robot overcomes tricky high-rise glazing challenge

A Winlet glazing robot hired from Hird has demonstrated the versatility of the glass vacuum manipulator by completing a complex high-rise installation project with ease.

Facilities managers faced a challenging situation when they had to replace a glass panel several floors up a high-rise apartment block in Battersea, South London.

The glazing specialist’s solution was to hire a Winlet 575 glazing robot from glass lifting specialist Hird to make full use of its excellent glass manipulation capabilities.

Compact glazing robot

Its team also hired a Kappel DSZ2 glass vacuum lifter to support the installation.

Thanks to the compact design of the Winlet 575 glazing robot, it could be taken up to the apartment that needed glazing in an internal lift.

It could then be positioned by the window to receive the glass panel.

An electric winch was used to lift the 2.5m by 2.5m panel, held by the DSZ2 glass vacuum lifter, up the side of the building. The panel could then be transferred to the Winlet glazing robot.

Held securely by the robot’s four suction cups, the operator manipulated the load to bring it up and over a glass balustrade, while tilting it to avoid a 500mm-deep soffit above the window.

dsz2 glass vacuum lifter glass panel lifting

Manual handling reduced

By using the Winlet 575 glazing robot, manual handling could be kept to an absolute minimum. The panel could then be moved into position and fitted into the aperture.

Without the Winlet glazing robot, completing this complex lift would have been a much greater challenge

Almost certainly, manual handling would have been a much larger component. Risk of operative injury and damage to the panel and surrounding surfaces would have been increased.

The Winlet 575 glazing robot has a maximum safe working load (SWL) of 575kg. It has a maximum hydraulic arm extension of 1800mm, at which point its SWL is 275kg.

Battersea - winlet glazing robot - glass installation

Gyroscopic load control

The glazing robot can lift loads to a height of 3600mm, to place glass panels directly overhead, if necessary. It can also carry loads up to 275kg on its side.

The glazing robot’s compact design – it has a maximum external width of 890mm and is just 2580mm long – played a pivotal role in completing the lift.

Also, the Winlet 575 glazing robot’s gyroscopic controls allow loads to be kept in precisely the same plane when being moved up and down or from side to side.

This ability was a valuable aid for the glazing installers working on this particular project, as it meant they could manipulate the load with greater confidence around the soffit and balustrade.

Curved adaption kit

Hird’s Winlet 575 can also be fitted with a curved glass adaption kit, allowing the robot to lift irregular shaped and curved panels weighing from 250kg to 560kg.

The Kappel DSZ2 glass vacuum lifter has an ultra-slim design which makes it easier to manage loads in constrained working environments.

For this project, it was configured with six suction cups, giving it a maximum SWL of 450kg. When fitted with four extra suction cups on extension arms it can achieve its maximum SWL of 750kg.

Safety is optimised with dual circuit suction system, with two pumps and two vacuum tanks, so if one fails, the other will still hold the load.

Glazing robot training

Hird’s Winlet glazing robot hire fleet has range of options from machines with a SWL of 350kg to 1,000kg.

winlet-1000-trx-all-terrain crawler-robot — **Winlet 1000 TRX**

winlet 350 Telehander glazing robot — **Winlet 350TH**

They include the tracked Winlet 1000 TRX (SWL 1,000kg) and the Winlet 350 TH, which can be fitted on a telehandler for higher level glass installation.