Safer Lifting of Steel with Magnets

Lifting steel is one of the most dangerous jobs in a workshop. Plates are heavy, edges are sharp, and a load that slips can crush a hand or a foot. Most accidents happen while the load is being attached or set down.

A permanent magnetic lifter changes the way the job is done. This guide explains where the risks are and how a lifter removes them.

Where the accidents happen

Attaching the load. With chains and slings, someone has to reach under or around the plate to fit the hooks. Fingers are trapped between the plate and the stack, and the person is standing next to a load that is about to move.

Balancing the load. A plate hung from chains can tilt or swing. If one hook slips, the whole load drops.

Setting the load down. The chains must be released by hand. Someone reaches under a plate that is resting on packers, or pulls a sling out from under a load that is already down.

Damage. Chains and hooks scratch and dent finished surfaces. Worn or overloaded slings fail without warning.

How a magnetic lifter works

A permanent magnetic lifter is a block of neodymium magnets inside a steel body, with a handle on top. When the handle is turned to the on position, the magnetic field is directed down through the base into the steel load. When the handle is turned off, the field is switched inside the body and the load is released.

There is no power supply and no battery. The lifter cannot lose its hold in a power cut. The hold is released only when the operator turns the handle, and the handle locks in the on position so that it cannot be knocked off.

How this makes the lift safer

Nobody reaches under the load. The lifter is set on top of the plate. The operator's hands stay on the handle, above the load.

The lift is from one point. The plate hangs level from a single point directly above its centre. There are no chains to tangle or slip.

Release is remote from the load. The plate is set down, and the operator turns the handle to release it. There is no sling to pull out.

One person does the job. The lifter is attached and released in seconds. Fewer people are near the load for less time.

Clean surfaces. The base is flat and smooth. Finished plate and machined parts are lifted without marks.

Using a lifter safely

• Know the rating. Each lifter is rated for a flat load of a given thickness. A round bar is held at half the flat rating. The SMAG Maxx range covers 100 kg to 6,000 kg flat load.
• Check the thickness. A thin plate cannot carry the full magnetic field, so the hold is weaker. Each model has a minimum job thickness.
• Check the surface. Rust, scale, paint and an air gap reduce the hold. Clean the contact area.
• Check the material. Low carbon steel gives the full rating. Alloy steel, cast iron and hardened steel hold less.
• Check the temperature. The load should be below 80 degrees Celsius.
• Lift one piece at a time. Stacked plates may separate during the lift.
• Test before every lift. Raise the load a few centimetres and pause before moving.
• Inspect the base. Keep it clean and free of dents.

Every SMAG lifter is tested to three times its safe working load before it leaves the works.

The SMAG range

Santosh Magnetic Works makes the Maxx series of permanent magnetic lifters in twelve sizes. See the range or contact us with the size and weight of the loads you lift.