Specialty Car Manufacturer Uses Spanco Workstation Bridge Crane to Expand Operations
Products used
Overview
Revology Cars is a manufacturer based in Orlando, Florida, producing brand new, reproduction 1965-1968 Ford Mustangs. Workers at Revology perform a range of different manufacturing processes in-house, from welding parts together to create a complete car body to painting and upholstery.
When they started manufacturing, Revology purchased car bodies that were already welded together to assemble into a complete car. When leaders at Revology wanted to start building the steel unibodies in-house as well, they had to implement new equipment and processes into their facility.
One new process they needed to implement was a material handling operation. Workers needed a way to move car floor assemblies between two workstations, and to move the assembled car body onto a rolling cart to move into a third workstation. With the equipment and capabilities they had in place, lifting and moving the car bodies wasn’t possible. Aaron Wright, the Chief Engineer of Revology, looked at different material handling solutions to find the best fit for the application.
Solution
One solution Aaron looked at was a jib crane. Because the facility didn’t have the space to install a freestanding jib crane, he decided to look at wall-mounted options. However, no available support structures would provide sufficient coverage with a wall-mounted jib crane.
Instead, Aaron decided that a freestanding bridge crane would offer the best coverage. He reached out to Mark Seavy at J. Herbert Corporation, an overhead crane manufacturer and Spanco dealer located in Kissimmee, Florida, to help him select the right components and dimensions and provide a quote for a new system.
There were several constraints that they had to consider when designing the system. Building constraints included nearby air conditioning ducts, angled roof support braces, lighting, and a mezzanine. Additionally, the system had to be able to span the two workstation it covers without intruding into an adjacent third workstation.
Aaron mentioned that the quote from the J. Herbert Corporation for the Spanco system was the most thorough and accurate of all the quotes they received. He explained: “Several businesses came out to our facility, took some rough dimensions, and left. As a result, some of the cranes we were quoted wouldn’t even fit inside the building. They didn’t consider any of the other constraints we had to work with.”
On the other hand, Mark spent time to find the right components and determine where to place system supports within the building constraints. Together, Aaron and Mark selected a Spanco Freestanding Workstation Bridge Crane with a total capacity of 2,000 pounds. The system includes two 1,000-pound capacity bridges with 14-foot spans and 38-foot runways, with a height under the boom (HUB) of 11 feet. Each bridge is equipped with a 1,000-pound capacity manual chain hoist.
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Impact
Aaron mentioned that workers were initially skeptical of the new operation. Moving the car bodies between workstations was a new, potentially difficult, task. However, after they demonstrated the success of the system, the workers were on board.
Aaron explained that, without the Spanco crane, the body assembly operation wouldn’t be possible. “It would take multiple people to even consider lifting the car body, and it wouldn’t be safe to do,” he said. The crane provides lifting capability that has allowed them to start producing the car bodies in-house as well. “The Spanco crane allows us to complete a manufacturing process that would otherwise be impossible.”
Now, workers use the crane to move completed car floor assemblies to a framing fixture where the car bodies are assembled. The sides, roof, engine compartment, and frame rails are added to the assembly, then workers lift the complete body onto a rolling cart. The two bridges on the system allow workers to balance the car bodies easily while lifting them.
Additionally, when the crane is not in use for lifting car bodies, workers can attach spot welding equipment to the hoists to provide welders access throughout the workstations. With the new Spanco Freestanding Workstation Bridge Crane in place, Revology has been able to implement multiple new manufacturing processes and expand their operations.