Towering and massive, many industrial machines can seem entirely immobile. The largest mechanical presses, for example, can weigh a million pounds or more, making it seem almost impossible that they should ever be moved. In fact, though, experts at Rigging in San Antonio regularly secure and lift machines this large and larger, doing extremely valuable work for their customers.
Whether for moving it into a shipping crate or simply transferring it to a new spot on a factory floor, though, lifting such equipment is never simple. In fact, any such project invariably involves quite a bit of preparatory work before the final goal of lifting can even be attempted.
In many cases, this will involve breaking down a piece of equipment to whatever extent is possible. A specialist at Rigging in San Antonio might call in an expert millwright, then, to ensure that this important work is taken care of with no problems. In other cases, the rigger will instead tackle the job alone, as most have plenty of experience with such matters.
Once the equipment has been broken done to the necessary degree, work on securing the parts that remain will begin. This will often involve tying relatively exposed and flimsy parts to tougher ones to ensure that movement will not result in damage to them. In other cases, parts of a machine will be supported by the addition of special trusses or other accessories designed to protect them.
With the machine having been shored up in these ways, the work of attaching the rigging itself can begin. While most projects will rely on a single crane for the actual lifting, just about every job will include dozens of lines for that piece of equipment to pull on.
Many of these lines will be attached directly to parts of the machinery that are capable of handling the forces involved. Others will be attached instead to cradles, slings, or other supplementary parts that are put in position for this purpose. In addition to ensuring that every line will be supported through attachment to a point that can handle the stress, the rigging expert will also need to make sure that overall balance will prevail.
