Pentalift News Blog
How to Identify Unbalanced Station Workloads
June 25, 2015, 9:28 am - A balanced workload has two important components: first, no task in a process takes longer than any others, and second, no worker feels that he or she is being forced to work harder than any other. The first aspect leads to a more efficient process; the second aspect keeps morale up and turnover down. However, […]
What is dock leveler ‘cant’?
June 22, 2015, 8:59 am - What does dock leveler deck cant mean? Deck cant means that the dock leveler platform can tilt or flex up to 4” per side. If the truck and dock leveler are both level then the deck cant feature is not required. However if the incoming truck is up to 4” higher on one side than the other, this could be caused by an uneven approach, snow/ice build-up on one side of the drive etc. then the deck cant becomes a very important feature. As the dock leveler is cycled the platform lowers to the truck bed and the hinged lip assembly makes contact with the truck bed. Deck cant provides torsional flex allowing the lip to conform or laterally flex to the uneven truck bed. The lip resting flat on the truck bed minimizes and damage to the material handling equipment, product and impact to the operator. Contact your Pentalift Sales Representative for more information.
Diminishing Returns On Lean Manufacturing
June 18, 2015, 9:00 am - Lean manufacturing, or a manufacturing process with as few non-value-adding steps as possible, has taken the world by storm. Based on the Toyota model of low inventory, precise metrics, and flattened workflows, lean manufacturing is now the world’s most popular way to improve efficiency. In practice, though, some managers find themselves getting into trouble by […]
Product Spotlight – Hydraulic UpEnder
June 16, 2015, 3:12 pm - 
Pentalift UpEnders are engineered and designed for applications where a freestanding piece of equipment is required to safely reorient and provide 90° tilt for heavy and awkward loads. Pentalift offers several pre-engineered UpEnder models, while also providing solutions for larger and very heavy custom UpEnding applications. Here is a link to a case study where Pentalift built a custom 60,000lb UpEnder to suit a customer’s application. Common options include: v-groove on one plane, used to help stabilize cylindrical loads; limit switches to restrict tilt to less than 90°; tie down locations installed on deck, to facilitate customer securing of loads; etc. Contact your Pentalift Sales Representative for more information.
Lift Tables For Applications With No Electricity
June 11, 2015, 4:38 pm -
There are often lift table applications where it is impossible to permit electricity. Pentalift offers several options to overcome this situation. The first would be to look at the Pentaloader, an exclusive self-leveling Pentalift product that uses a spring cam arrangement to automatically present the load at an ergonomic height without using any power source. This table does not require any power unit of any kind, and is the only really durable, industrial strength self-leveler available in the marketplace. The Pentaloader is available in (4) different configurations, which can handle loads anywhere from 600lbs to 4500lbs. The spring tension can be adjusted without the use of any tools, by simply adding or removing spring locking pins from the system.
Another option would be to look at using a pneumatic table. There are two ways that Pentalift offers air tables. The first would be the Pro Air Series, which uses air bag technology to actuate the table. The other possibility would be to use a normal lift table with hydraulic cylinders, but then drive the cylinders using an air motor. Air bag technology is quieter and less expensive, but has limited size and vertical travel capabilities. Air motors provide much more flexibility when it comes to size and vertical travel, but are louder and are more expensive. Contact your Pentalift Sales Representative for more information.
