Forklift News - JCB teletruk helps maintain robots

JCB Teletruk used at the Landrover Plant in Halewood to retrieve robots from the production line.

A JCB teletruk was chosen to assist maintenance of production line robots at Halewood, northwest England, the home of the Jaguar X-Type and Land Rover Freelander 2.

Dealer Gunn JCB supplied the Halewood plant with a TLT 35D teletruk fitted with a fork positioner to facilitate the removal of a production line robot in the event it failed. Halewood had previously hired a crane or dismantled robots to repair them on site.

The teletruk was selected because of its extending boom with a low pivot design and its compliance weight and physical size requirements.

The 35D has a full forward reach of 2.43 metres (7.97 feet), can lift 2,100kg (5,626lbs) at a 2 metre(6.56 foot) forward extension and also 3.5 tonnes (7,716lbs) to a 4.4-metre (14.4-foot) height. The absence of a mast also provides the operator with clear forward vision.

The diesel-powered teletruk provides a flexible solution to Halewood’s maintenance lifting and slinging problems. The low pivot on the extending boom allowed operators to work under the overhead systems without catching the guarding. It can also reach over the fence lines to provide a safe slinging spot.

Gunn JCB’s teletruk specialist, Mark Roberts, says the vehicle enabled Halewood staff to change the robot for a new one and repair the unit off site.

"When it came to providing maintenance access for slinging, a stacker truck with a ‘nose picker’ was used previously. As the teletruk has a hydraulic system using check valves, it provides a robust means of fixing a pulley block to the end of the mast to sling equipment from hard to reach places."

JCB modified the teletruk to meet the plant’s specific needs. Operators needed to be able to slide the fork carriage sideways from the cabin.

Roberts says the JCB dealer advised Halewood to use a sideshifting positioner, which enabled the operator to move the forks to the left and right and to move the forks closer or wider from a lever inside the cabin.

Discuss Forkliftaction.com News stories in the Discussion Forums!