The first Demag pneumatic rope balancer hoist to be installed in the UK is now in use at the Land Rover power train assembly plant in Solihull.
It is being used on the assembly line for the five cylinder Storm TD5 turbo diesel engine, as used in the Discovery and Defender models. The plant turns out more than 1,000 of these engines each week.
Part of the assembly process involves precise placement of a 20kg crankshaft into the main bearings, a task which previously used a two speed chain hoist. Because the rope balancer makes the load appear weightless, it can be manipulated more easily.
Land Rover is not the only automotive producer to use a Demag balancer. Three pneumatically powered D Lift vertical balancers are in use at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles’ plant in Hannover, Germany, which every day produces 170 LT Transporter vans.
VW Commercial Vehicles uses two manipulators with an infinitely variable stroke of 600mm to fit tow bars that weigh up to 38kg. A third pneumatic balancer, with a stroke of 1,000mm, is used for picking 24kg leaf springs from stock onto trolleys that take them to the assembly line. The vertical balancer for the leaf springs entered service in October 2001 and the other units have been in operation since December 2000.
