Product of the Month – Curved Glass Vacuum Lifters
Take a look through the architectural trends of the 2020s and it won’t take long before one thing becomes clear – the rising prominence of curved glass.
It’s why our Product of the Month for February is Hird’s range of curved glass vacuum lifters.
Whether you consider the popularity of curved structural glass, with frameless, rounded façades creating a bold “how do they do that?” architectural statement.
Or the equally impressive use of curved glazed panels in large windows, interior walls and skylights, there are irregular and curvaceous shapes everywhere, especially in statement city centre developments.
Efficient, safe, sustainable curved glass lifters
Hird has responded to this trend by building up an equally eye-catching fleet of curved glass vacuum lifters that can be combined with tower or mobile cranes, pick and carry cranes or spider cranes to efficiently, safely and sustainably install glass in any structure, and for any purpose.
The curved glass vacuum lifter hire service provides machines with lifting capacities that range from 300kg right up to 2100kg.
And, given the directions in which these trends are rapidly flowing, Hird is always looking at options to add even more vacuum lifters to the hire fleet to stay ahead of the needs of customers who install curved glass.
Bear in mind, vacuum lifters have become more and more important to lift glazed windows and structural elements in recent years to:
- Accelerate installation times.
- Improve manual handling safety.
- Control costs and the size of teams working on busy, complex construction sites.
- Cope with the increasing sheer size of glass sheets being installed.
Installing curved glass with minimal risk
That’s just flat glass. When you add a second challenging design component – curves, and not just uniform ones – the task of safely manipulating these loads is made appreciably harder.
And do not think, ever, of damaging irregularly-shaped and curved glass. The cost of replacement, in terms of materials and lost time, are too great to contemplate.
All these factors lead façade contractors to Hird, where the company’s experts are not just skilled at providing the best curved glass vacuum lifters for hire, both efficiently and cost-effectively.
Its technicians have had a hand in helping manufacturers design them, as well.
So, here is a quick tour through the curved vacuum lifters from Hird that glazing and curtain wall installers rely on to help create the trend-setting structurers we all marvel at.
Wirth GB2 Curved
The Wirth GB2 Curved vacuum lifter has a maximum lifting capacity of 300kg and is designed to be operated by a single person.
The vacuum lifter has a maximum curved radius of 1000mm, and can rotate its load through 360 degrees, with the ability to lock the load every 90 degrees. The load can also be tilted though 90 degrees.
The eight suction pads of this battery electric-powered vacuum lifter can also be used to lift plastic and metals (as can other curved lifters in the range), making it a popular and flexible machine.
Kappel DSL2 Curved
Hird’s DSL2 Curved is another very adaptable 16-suction-cup vacuum lifter for both convex and concaved panels, with a minimum radius of 1000mm.
It has a 400kg lifting capacity and a cabled remote control. Each of the pads on the DSL2 Curved rotate to allow them to attach securely to the curved glass surface.
With a vacuum lifter depth of just 300mm, it is a good choice for installing glazed panels within constrained space.
Kappel DSZ2 Curved
This is a battery electric curved glass vacuum lifter that can set up to provide a maximum lifting capacity of either 400kg or 600kg, and is also operated with a wired remote control.
The larger capacity is achieved by adding extra arms to the machine, increasing the number of suction cups from 16 to 24.
The curved glass vacuum lifter can also be configured to manage convex and concaved loads, with 360 degree continuous rotation and 90 degree hydraulic tilt.
Kappel Hydraulica 500 Curved and 600 Curved
Two curved vacuum lifters – the Kappel Hydraulica 500 Curved has a max capacity of 500kg and the Hydraulica 600 Curved can lift up to 600kg.
Both have 90-degree tilt and 270-degree manual, lockable rotation and are operated with two or four maintenance-free vacuum pumps.
Like other curved vacuum lifters in the range, they also has fail-safe systems to ensure loads are held if a pump system fails.
As with other curved glass lifters in the hire fleet, the machines are supplied with bespoke trolleys for safe and easy transportation to and from lift locations.
Kappel Hydraulica 1200 Curved
With a maximum lifting capacity of 1200kg, this curved glass vacuum lifter can lift and install seriously large and thick glass panels.
When you consider that structural, laminated security glass can be over 100mm thick, it is no wonder these vacuum lifters need sky-high capacities.
Panel manipulation is made easy by powered tilting and rotation. Also, like other vacuum lifters in this range, suction cups can be switched on and off to accommodate irregular-shaped loads.
Kappel Hydraulica 1500 Curved
A curved vacuum lifter with a capacity of up to 1500kg, which also makes installation easier and safer (and less costly, because smaller teams are needed) with powered load tilting and rotation.
A powerful dual independent pump system ensures the load will continue to be held if one of the pump circuits fails completely.
The vacuum lifter’s 60 suction cups can be adapted to lift irregular glass panels, with the machine operated using a cabled remote control unit.
Kappel Hydraulica 2100 Curved
This curved vacuum lifter is a behemoth of glass lifting. It can manage loads that weigh up to 2100kg – and, itself, weighs 970kg.
Battery electric-powered, loads can be power rotated and tilted so they can be precisely positioned before being moved into position, accelerating installation and reducing the risk of damage.
Visual and audible safety alarms add to the assurance that glass lifting teams will always remain in control when operating the Hydraulica 2100 curved.
Lifting systems for curved glass installation
Hird can support glass lifting customers with all the equipment and accessories they need to carry out installations using the company’s curved vacuum lifters, or can provide a contract lift service if needed.
That includes mobile cranes, such as the 60t SWL Liebherr LTM1060 3.1 crane or the Grove GMK4100L mobile crane, with a SWL of 100t.
Hird also has among the UK’s larges fleets of pick and carry cranes. They include Valla V-Series cranes that are ideal for glass lifting, such as the Valla V80R (SWL – 8t) and the Valla V180RC (SWL – 18t).
Maeda spider cranes that complement Hird’s curved glass lifters include the all-electric Maeda MC3053C ECO knuckle boom crane, with its capacity of 2.98t, and brilliant up-and-over lifting capability.
Then there is the Maeda MC815 tracked spider crane, which can lift loads of up to 8t.
Vacuum lifter training can also be provided at three training centres across the UK, or at customer locations if they are suitable, through the popular RTITB-accredited below the hook vacuum lifter course.
Find out more
Talk to Hird today about hiring the right curved glass vacuum lifter for your glass installation project. All the glass lifters are available across the UK.
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