Telehandler And Scissor Lift Uses

By Author: Percy Saia
Total Articles: 12
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Telehandlers and scissor lifts are two devices used to lift and carry people and objects and have many uses for building, maintenance and even entertainment. Roughly they fall into the categories of elevated work platform and forklift and have some large differences that alter the way in which they are used drastically.

Essentially a scissor lift is a vertical lift that operates using a series of interconnecting cross-sections that open and close like scissors (hence the name). This means they can compress or extend directly upwards but that the work platform itself cannot be moved or steered in other directions separately (as it can be with say a cherry picker which is useful for reaching difficult-to-access areas). The fact that the mechanism operates directly beneath the supportive platform also means that the system can bear a large amount of weight as it's pushing directly down on the scissors as they push directly upwards. The hydraulic or pneumatic nature of the system also means that there is a fail safe - should the power cut or the system falter then the scissor lift will still compress gently with ...
... the air or water inside offering resistance. These factors combined mean that scissor lifts can take great weights, and makes them useful for lifting not only workers who need to work at a higher level, but also heavy objects and materials such as crates that need to be raised to another level.

Meanwhile telehandlers are much more like cherry pickers in the way they operate in that the end is on a crane with a neck and multiple moveable joints. This means that the end can be more precisely controlled and steered into specific areas rather than going directly up and down. Unlike a cherry picker however, there is no caged area for a worker to stand on, instead there is a fork that allows the end to get under and lift crates and palettes and other heavy items and to place them down gently. This means that they can move and place heavy items in specific areas without needing a worker to stand on the platform.

The two differ in several ways then and have different strengths and weaknesses. On the one hand the scissor lift can bear a heavier load, but on the other it can only move directly upwards. At the same time the heavy object needs to be somehow placed on top of the lift (often done using a raised platform or lifted using people or a forklift). Meanwhile the telehandler has more flexibility but can carry less. For example then, the scissor lift would work very well for raising a car to work underneath it (if the scissor lift had a hole underneath) and would offer the most safety in this situation. Similarly it would work better for raising a pile of bricks to be used to build the top of a wall. Meanwhile a telehandler would be better for placing boxes or palettes onto shelves. In some cases a telehandler can be fitted with attachments to hold other objects such as a window pane.

It is possible to hire telehandlers when building a house or other construction. The main place where you will find scissor lifts is in warehouses and factories, where things need to be shifted on and off shelving. Visit us: http://www.qldaccess.com.au/ .