Product of the Month – Winlet 1000 glazing robot
The power of suction is quite amazing. Take our Product of the Month for April, the Winlet 1000 glazing robot.
It can lift glass panels weighing 1,000kg, with just four vacuum cups.
That is quite a feat. Put into context, that is more than the weight of a Kia Picanto car, and the same weight as a saltwater crocodile, the largest reptile on earth.
Let’s not try to lift a 7-metre-long saltie though.
Improving glazing safety
The Winlet 1000 is the largest battery electric glazing robot in Hird’s glass lifter hire fleet.
It is designed to lift and carry – large – glazed panels before placing them with millimetre accuracy in a glazing aperture.
As with all other Winlet glazing robots in the Hird hire fleet, using this machine will reduce manual handling to all but zero.
It also simplifies the glass installation procedure, which improves safety still further.
Using the Winlet 1000 to carry and place glass panels also reduces the risk of the load, or any other surface, being damaged during the glass install process.
The glazing robot also has independent dual vacuum systems. Therefore, if one fails, the other will continue to hold the load.
Productive and less costly
So, using a Winlet 1000 to install glass is great for health and safety. It is also just as helpful for maximising productivity.
Conventional glass installation procedures, especially for large glazed panels, require multiple processes, and larger teams to manage them.
That is not the case with the Winlet 1000. The glazing robot shrinks the size of the installation team needed, so costs are also reduced and sustainability is enhanced.
This is very helpful at a time when experienced and skilled glass installation operatives are about as easy to find as a friendly saltie.
It means large panels (or thicker, heavier laminated security glass) can be installed more quickly, with less disruption, which makes site managers very happy indeed.
Precision glass installation
The Winlet 1000 glazing robot does not just lift glass panels. It manipulates them. The machine can lift panels to a height of 4.1m and install them directly overhead.
Its boom can also extend a load weighing a maximum 300kg to a distance of 2.5m past the front bumper, assisting with installations over obstacles.
Perhaps the most impressive feature is the glazing robot’s ability to make fine adjustments as panels are presented to apertures.
Once a panel has been rotated or tilted through 180-degrees (the glazing robot can do both) the operator can move the load sideways up to 75mm or vertically up to 200mm, in the same plane.
This fine adjustment capability makes sure the panel is presented perfectly to the aperture.
With no need for manual handling, there is less risk that the panel will be forced into place, and so less risk of damage being caused to the panel or the surrounding structure.
Flexible glazing control
An operative moves the Winlet 1000 glazing robot into position using its tiller arm.
This controls twin wheels at the back of the machine that turns through a wide arc to fine-tune the glazing robot’s placement in congested areas.
The tiller arm controls can also be used to pick up and manipulate the load.
Or the lifting and installation process can be managed using a cabled remote control unit. This allows the operator to stand in the optimum position to carry out the lift.
In standard set-up, the glazing robot is operated with two front wheels, making the machine 890mm wide. But, if extra stability is required, for example, when operating over uneven ground, two extra wheels can be added, extending the machine’s width to 1220mm.
As well as lifting and installing loads, the Winlet 1000 also has pick and carry capability, being able to carry panels weighing up to 300kg positioned on the side of the machine, to move loads through doorways or in congested spaces.
The glazing robot can also lift other smooth, non-porous sheets, such as metals, polished stone, plastic and wood. By switching to specialist vacuum cups, can also lift other sheeted materials, like plasterboard and glass-reinforced concrete.
It should be noted, also, that the glazing robot’s battery is designed to deliver plenty of power for a long and busy shift, and has a built-in 110v charger.
Ideal for curved glass
Ultimate flexibility is also offered by pairing the Winlet 1000 with the Winlet Curved Adaptation Kit.
This allows Hird’s glass installation customers to use the glazing robot to lift and manipulate curved and irregularly shaped glass sheets weighing up to 630kg.
This makes the Winlet 1000 ideal for installing or maintaining revolving doors in office blocks or hotels, or curved glazed panels becoming increasingly popular in modern architecture.
The curved adaptation kit has 8 suction cups, not the standard 4, which can be spread between 960mm and 1670mm to accommodate loads of different sizes.
It can also be fitted to the Winlet 575 glazing robot (SWL: 463kg) and the Winlet 785 (SWL: 630kg), both of which are available in the Hird glass lifter hire fleet.
Full glazing robot range
The Winlet 1000 is one of a range of glazing robots available from Hird. They include the Winlet 350, with a maximum SWL of 350kg, and the Winlet 350TH, also with a SWL of 350kg, which can be attached to a telehandler.
Moving up through the range, the Winlet 400TL, with its SWL of 400kg, has been designed to have superior lifting capacity and reach, plus particularly strong capability across uneven ground.
It is worth pointing out that Hird is also the authorised distributor for all Winlet products in the UK and Ireland so can supply the glazing robots through its business Hird Sales.
Hird has also developed a training course for glazing robots, now accredited by LEEA, which is delivered across the UK by Hird Training.
Find out more
Talk to Hird’s friendly and expert glass lifting equipment hire team about the Winlet 1000 glazing robot. It is available for hire nationally, via Hird’s three operational hubs.
Email: [email protected]
