Rearrange Your Shop with Safe Machine Moving Practices

While the uninitiated may view a machine shop and see a random scattering of various machines, a wise machinist or shop manager can take a single look and determine if the shop layout is conducive for maximum production and safety. If your current shop layout could use some rearranging to make things flow smoother, follow these safe machine moving practices.

In some cases, you may want to contact a professional machine moving service that has the training and equipment to perform these tasks safely. For smaller shops and machines, it may be a DIY, all-employee evolution.

Plan Your Production Layout

Proper planning ahead of time can save you hours, effort, accidents, injuries, and damaged equipment. Think about the route materials take through your shop. Organize your shop layout so that items are worked and handed off smoothly. Machines that are commonly used should be placed close together, so a part moves from one workstation to the next without unnecessary walking or time.

You should also plan the route each piece of machinery must take to arrive at its new location. Planning ahead allows you to make sure enough room exists to move the machine (and the equipment it takes to move it) between other machines or equipment in your shop. Don’t guess – obtain measurements for the entire route and the machines being moved to work out the clearest and widest route.

Use Proper Lifting Equipment for Machine Moving

Heavy lifting equipment is essential when machine moving within your shop. Sometimes this means a heavy forklift. Other times you may need a platform lift or other equipment from a rental facility. The weight of your machines, their height, and width, tide-down equipment, and clearance around them should all be considered when choosing the proper lifting equipment.

Secure Machinery on at Least 3 Axes

Tipping is an extreme hazard when machine moving with any size equipment. Many pieces of CNC machinery have lifting or moving hooks or eyes to facilitate machine moving. Otherwise, you may need to bolt strong hooks or attach eyebolts to the machinery to allow for tying it down securely. Secure on at least three axes, if not more.

Only Lift as High as Necessary

Machine moving from one end of the shop to the other does not require a high lift. Only raise the machine high enough to provide adequate clearance to move across the shop floor. This will minimize the strain on the lifting equipment and the risks of tipping or dropping the machine.

These and other safe machine moving practices will keep your team safe and your machinery undamaged. Accurate Machine Tool Services can offer more advice and recommendations for machine moving. Give us a call for all your CNC machine tool needs.