Vacuum-based installation of sandwich panels

The installation of sandwich panels in the roof, wall and ceiling sector using vacuum-based lifting gear uniquely combines installation speed, operational safety, ergonomics and surface protection.

The use of vacuum transport has long been standard practice in the industry, e.g. in internal transport, installation automation, in filling, packing and de-stacking equipment.

Vacuum lifting gear has also been used on building sites for the transport and installation of glass panels for almost 50 years.

Fig. 5.5.1 OKTOPUS® lifting beam for handling heavy sheet blanks in edge profile production

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Fig. 5.5.2 OKTOPUS® IV-N as semi-automatic panel sorting plant

Fig. 5.5.3 With an overall height of just 130 mm and free rotatability around 360?, the OKTOPUS® FA enables the installation of glass panels between façade and scaffolding.

However, just 10 years ago, Wirth successfully introduced the first vacuum-based lifting gear for the installation of large-format wall, roof and ceiling panels, as well as heavy door and gate elements.

When installing sandwich panels, installation gangs find themselves faced with the following, increasingly demanding conditions:

• Constantly increasing building physics requirements, e.g. in accordance with EnEV, mean that plastic-based core insulation of sandwich panels is becoming ever thicker. 140 mm thick insulating materials are no longer unusual.
• However, special fire-protection engineering conditions also increasingly require the use of non-combustible core insulation, e.g. in mineral wool, between the facings.
• The trend towards larger spans and the requirement for ever shorter construction periods result in the use of constantly increasing element lengths.

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Fig. 5.5.4 In Pirmasen, Saarland, roof elements almost 19 metres in length are mounted with the help of the OKTOPUS® KT-B installation system and its 10 m installation beam.

This inevitably results in panels with ever higher dead loads, which have to be lifted, transported, precisely positioned and, finally, secured. The installation of wall panels of 400 kg in weight or 19 m long roof panels is now no longer an exception.

However, it is not just the weight and length of the elements to be installed that take traditional installation aids, such as self-made U-beams or the rather dubious - and also usually forbidden - method of attaching elements by screw clamps, beyond their limits.

Fig. 5.5.5 OKTOPUS® KT-B installation system with mounting clips for horizontal wall installation

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Operational safety and health protection aspects, as well as economic considerations and the aesthetic requirement for undamaged elements, provide fundamental arguments against these antiquated installation techniques.

Today, OKTOPUS® installation systems are an integral constituent of industrial building sites.

With crane attachments, the range extends from individual suction devices for vertical / horizontal installation of wall panels, through to almost 12 m long lifting beams with two connected devices for the installation of roof panels up to 22 m long.

Fork lift truck attachments with just a vacuum function are available, as well as hydraulically-assisted vacuum lifting gear and highly complex machines which have three-dimensionally acting hydraulic positioning devices for absolutely precise installation of the elements, while at the same time serving as a working platform.

Fig. 5.5.6 The OKTOPUS® KI-B is the ideal stacker attachment system for vertical installation in the wall sector.

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Fig. 5.5.7 The OKTOPUS® GI-B allows the installation of vertical and horizontal wall and ceiling elements.

No matter how diverse the additional equipment, all OKTOPUS® vacuum-assisted installation systems have the following advantages, in comparison with conventional installation:

• Low-cost installation of sandwich panels thanks to shorter installation times and rationalisation of the building process
• Installation engineers are relieved of heavy physical lifting work
• Higher operational safety during installation
• Reduced need for additional aids
• Material-protecting installation
• Replaceable suction heads for all standard elements, including many trapezoidal sheet forms

Fig. 5.5.8 By using the proven Wirth circular or longitudinal suction devices, the OKTOPUS® system enables the transport and installation of almost all standard sandwich panels and many trapezoidal sheets.

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All Wirth OKTOPUS® installation systems are battery-operated and thus completely energy-autonomous machines, making them suitable for building sites. Special designs that operate on the mains or standby units are developed and manufactured specifically to customer requirements.

Depending on the application and device, the load bearing capacity of OKTOPUS® systems is generally between 250 kg and 400 kg.

The development of special solutions for higher load bearing capacities, with special hydraulic drives, special suction device shapes etc. is a daily challenge for the world-wide market leader in this installation technology.

Inside the devices, a sophisticated safety system constantly monitors the status of the vacuum circuit and the batteries. Optical and acoustic warning devices provide an early indication of deviations from the nominal status. A suitably sized reserve vacuum system maintains the load bearing capacity, even in the event of failure of the power supply or the vacuum unit, until the load can be safely deposited after an optical and acoustic alarm.

Fig. 5.5.9 With the OKTOPUS® GA-VH, panels can be sucked from the stack, hydraulically swivelled into the installation position and, after rough positioning by the truck, hydraulically finely positioned 3-dimensionally at the installation location.

Naturally, all Wirth OKTOPUS® installation systems comply with the applicable Accident Prevention Regulations and the Machinery Directive, and have the CE marking.

The machines suitable for vertical transport of people (GA-V and GA-VH) are type-tested according to Appendix IV of the Machinery Directive and approved for this use.

Author
Holger Schadwinkel
Wirth GmbH
Brehnaer Straße 1
D-06188 Landsberg
Tel.: + 49 (0) 3 46 02 / 70 88 - 0
Fax.: + 49 (0) 3 46 02 / 70 88 - 111
www.wirth-gmbh.com
info@wirth-gmbh.com

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