This fine example of British architecture requires full time maintenance. The necessary building materials and scaffolding have to be raised and lowered to and from the roof. It was essential that any lifting systems provided should be completely hidden from view when not in use, but quick and easy to deploy when needed.

To solve the problem our Design Team developed a Luffing Jib Crane combined with steelwork walkway and gantry system all of which were hot dip galvanised suitable for its outdoor environment. Our trained Engineers carried out the manufacture, installation, proof load testing and commissioning of the equipment to current Regulations. Due to its location the installation on site was a major consideration. The component parts of the jib and associated steelwork had to be hoisted onto the roof of the Cathedral using a large mobile crane. Our Project Manager’s worked closely with the Police and Local Authorisies to ensure road and pedestrian traffic problems were kept to a minimum.

Turnover Device

The Airbus A380 presented a number of handling problems due to the size of its components. One specific problem was the handling of the wing ribs, which need to be turned through 180º during the machining process.

A further problem faced with turning the ribs was that any external forces applied needed to be kept to a minimum during the process, so as not to distort the rib in any way.

To overcome this problem our Design Team developed a bespoke piece of equipment to turn the ribs during the machining process.

The machine consists of a main rotating frame, into which a rib is placed via an upper door. Once positioned a clamp is operated to take up any difference in rib thickness, but does not come into contact with the actual rib itself. The main frame is then rotated, and the rib is removed from a second door, which is mounted on the other face of the main frame.

All motions of the Turnover Device are of Electro-Mechanical operation and controlled from a single floor mounted panel. Each operation of the device is monitored by a series of limit switches and sensors to ensure that the correct turnover cycle is followed.

As part of the Health & Safety Requirements on the site which had to be taken into consideration. Rota designed, fabricated and installed a fencing platform system, including light guards, to meet customer’s requirements.

During the production stages of the wings for the new Airbus A380, a handling problem became apparent where by the Wing Skins had to be lifted from one process to another.

There are various types and sizes of Wing Skins used throughout the manufacturing process, with the lifting points changing depending on the type of the Skin.

A costly solution to this problem would have been to have a dedicated lifting beam for each size and type of Wing Skin required to be lifted.

Our Design Team worked in conjunction with our customer to develop a unique lifting beam, which is capable of handling any size and type of wing skin required for the Airbus A380.

This Transporter was designed for a large re-cycling company in North Devon, to handle 10 tonne reels of paper with a 2.35 metre diameter and a maximum length of 3.4 metres, from a Storage Area to the Paper Mill.

The Transporter is controlled from a remote console panel via a cable reeling drum and powered by AC electric motors in both the travel and slewing motions with a speed of 20/5MPM for travel and 0.5 RPM for rotation.

Rota Limited were asked to design and manufacture a swing jib crane for the International Conference Centre (ICC) in Birmingham. This is to transfer window cleaning cradles from Broad Street to the cannel side at lower level. Due to its location the Swing Jib Crane needed to be compatible with the surrounding area and was therefore given a more decorative finish.

Factory Relocation and Refurbishment

One of our customers moved to a new production facility to cater for their ever growing order book.

Our involvement was to work closely with the Operatives, Managers and Health & Safety Officer, to supply all of the lifting equipment required for the new site, as their new production arrangements involved conveyor systems. Existing overhead crane gantry beams from the old facility were utilized, so that the majority of the equipment was supported from above with only a minimum number of support columns floor mounted.

As the entire project was on a tight schedule for completion we also had to work in close contact with the suppliers providing other types of equipment, such as conveyors, extraction and sand pipes.

Throughout the duration of the project, we supplied several monorails of various capacities including rolling beam cranes, and a number of floor mounted jibs, all designed, manufactured and installed to suit the clients requirements, and within the timescales required to complete the project.