Vanguard Installs Injection Moulder

Vanguard, leading rigging and heavy lifting specialist, has completed a project for Grinaker-LTA Civil Engineering. This project, commissioned by an air navigation service provider, involved the construction of a new radar tower to serve East London Airport.

Heavy rigging specialist, Vanguard, has employed its innovative lifting methods to install an injection moulder at Toyota’s Durban resin factory. This is one of the many jobs completed for the car manufacturer.

A full rigging study was completed before the project began to determine the exact logistics involved in the project. One of the challenges of the project involved bringing in the heavy equipment, rotating it and lowering it into position. This involved working in a confined space around the existing equipment.

According to James Robinson, project engineer, Vanguard, Toyota initially wanted to remove one of the factory walls so that the moulder could be installed.

“After we completed the rigging study, we determined that we could in fact co-ordinate our efforts in such a way that we could complete the job without any major disruption.”

The injection moulder used for manufacturing bumpers, consists of three heavy components namely a 50t base and two 60t side brackets, as well as auxiliary hydraulic parts. A gantry system was utilised to offload the equipment and place into position. Vanguard also employed its rotating hook and jack and slide system to ensure the efficient and accurate moving of the components.

The precision with which the base was levelled and lifted ensured that once in place, no further adjustments were necessary, thus saving time.

“After the base was lowered into final position and set onto bolts, the side frames were installed using the gantry system. The auxiliary hydraulic equipment was craned into the factory as needed in the installation process ensuring the optimum usage of the space available,” says Robinson.

The job was finished on schedule with the installation of the heaviest components taking approximately five days while the rest of the mechanical and electrical work took a further three weeks.