500kg-1000kg Jib Mounted Vacuum Lifter for Sheet Metal

Sheet metal fabrication shops rarely struggle with cutting anymore. Fiber lasers have made clean, fast cuts accessible to operations of almost any size. The bottleneck has shifted to what happens before the cut and after it: getting the plate onto the bed, and getting the finished part off. A 500kg-1000kg jib mounted vacuum lifter addresses that bottleneck directly, but not in the way a generic overhead crane does. The distinction matters for shops evaluating where to spend on material handling.

The jib is the point, not the vacuum cups

Most vacuum lifters on the market are suspended from overhead bridge cranes. That arrangement works when the crane is available and when ceiling height permits. In practice, bridge cranes are often occupied with other lifts, and low-bay shops simply do not have the headroom. A jib mounted configuration changes the geometry. Herochu builds column-mounted cantilever systems that rotate on a floor plate, freeing the overhead crane entirely and fitting under ceilings where a bridge crane would never clear.

The practical consequence is scheduling. When the lifter has its own jib, laser feeding does not wait for the crane to finish moving a die or a shipping crate. The 500kg-1000kg range covers the majority of sheet sizes in general fabrication: 3000×1500 mm carbon steel at 12 mm thickness sits comfortably within the lower end, while 4000×2000 mm stainless at heavier gauges approaches the upper boundary. Herochu’s HC-series jib lifters are configured around the actual plate envelope the shop runs, not a generic capacity figure.

Vacuum grip on oily, scaled, and coated plate

The objection most often raised about vacuum lifting in fabrication environments is surface condition. Hot-rolled carbon steel arrives with mill scale. Laser-cut edges leave dust. Some plates carry protective film. A poorly specified vacuum system loses seal on all three.

Herochu addresses this at the cup level. The standard configuration uses 200 mm diameter polyurethane cups that conform to slightly warped or irregular surfaces rather than requiring a perfectly flat contact face. Eight cups in a fixed array distribute load across the sheet, so a single cup losing seal on a scaled edge does not drop the plate. The array also accommodates varying sheet dimensions without operator reconfiguration: outer cups engage smaller plates, while full-size sheets sit under all eight points.

For the 1000kg upper end of the range, Herochu increases cup count and diameter to maintain the same safety margin. The vacuum circuit includes a non-return valve that holds the load if air supply is interrupted, giving the operator time to lower the plate rather than release it.

Rotation and reach without repositioning

A 220-degree rotation angle on the HC-RP series means the boom can sweep from a storage rack on one side of the column to a machine bed on the other without the operator walking the column around. The 3600 mm boom length reaches the center of a 4000×2000 mm stack. Lift stroke of 700 mm covers the height difference between horizontal rack storage and typical laser bed elevation.

In shops where floor space is tight—which is most of them—the column footprint is the constraint that determines whether a jib lifter is feasible. Herochu designs the base plate around the load moment at full extension. A 500kg plate at 3600 mm reach produces a substantial overturning force, and the foundation requirement reflects that. Shops comparing options should confirm the concrete depth and reinforcement specified for their specific model rather than assuming a generic slab is sufficient.

Safety circuits that operate without operator intervention

The gas cut-off protection on Herochu jib lifters is not a convenience feature. If the compressed air supply fails mid-lift—because a hose ruptures, a compressor trips, or a quick-disconnect separates—the vacuum reservoir maintains hold long enough for the load to be set down safely. The automatic braking system engages when power is lost or the emergency stop is pressed, locking the boom in position rather than allowing it to drift.

These systems operate passively. The operator does not need to recognize a failure and react. That distinction separates equipment designed for daily production from equipment designed to pass a specification sheet.

Where the 500kg-1000kg range fits best

Operations feeding laser cutters with mixed plate sizes, running one or two shifts, and handling carbon steel and stainless in the 1-20 mm range will find the middle of this capacity band appropriate. Shops running predominantly thin gauge aluminum may find a lower-capacity unit sufficient. Heavy plate fabrication at 20 mm and above on a regular basis belongs in a different equipment class entirely.

Herochu configures each jib lifter around the shop’s maximum plate size and weight, with suction cup layout and boom length matched to the actual work envelope. The objective is not to sell the largest capacity available but to match the machine to the material flow it will serve.