Pit Safety Covers

• Application:  Machine: Horizontal Boring Mill – Fives G&L FTR-3500. The FTR-3500 is a large precision machine tool that produces parts for the bulldozers, cranes, power generators, mining shovels, airplanes and oil rigs. The operating platform is located at the center of the machine’s travel. On each side of the operating platform, a set of Steelflex roll-up covers are installed over the machine pit. Each cover is 193.50″ (4.92 M) wide and 706″ long (17.9 M) – over 16 x 58 feet! An additional Steelflex cover protects the guideways in each of the two the weldment machining areas; these covers are installed perpendicular to the larger Steelflex covers.
• Dynamic Protection:  The Steelflex cover provides a continuous walk-on surface to allow the machine operator to safely access the platform. In addition to a sturdy walk-on surface that’s flush with floor level, large amounts of metal swarf are prevented from falling inside the pit and jamming up the machine’s rails.
• Productivity:  This floor-type boring mill enables the manufacturer to maintain a continuous workflow for the large weldments that must receive precision-drilled mounting holes.  While the machining tool is completing operations on one weldment within a semi-enclosed space, the next weldment can be loaded on the opposite side.
• Cable Management:  the pit is about 20 feet below the floor surface and contains the machine’s power cables and guideways.  In addition to Steelflex, Dynatect has also supplied the Gortrac XL Series cable carriers <link> in the pit and the metal-shielded bellows <Gordillo link> on the Y axis of the machine’s boring spindle.

• Application:  Large machine tools such as planer mills often are installed partially below floor level, resulting in potentially hazardous pits. In this application, the aircraft manufacturer uses large fiber placement machines to build fuselages from composites. Adjustable tailstocks of the two-station machine travel on guideways located in a pit below floor level.
• Challenge:  Production operators must access workpieces as they’re produced, necessitating pit covers during production, yet also requiring a way to remove the covers for repairs and adjustments. Grating is time-consuming to move, and slats require complex support structures that complicate maintenance tasks. Other hinged cover solutions collect debris.
• Solution: Instead, the aircraft manufacturer uses rugged walk-on metal pit covers with extruded aluminum stiffening ribs bonded to stainless steel sheets; there are no hinges to collect debris. These roll up onto steel rollers equipped with take-up mechanisms. Typically made of reinforced stainless steel, these covers allow partial pit access while preventing falls at other times or into other pit areas.

• Application:  The production of aluminum products involves multiple steps such as coiling and cutting. These installations include floor pits which facilitate the routing or handling of the extruded metals being processed.
• Challenge:  These floor pits introduce trip hazards, fall hazards, floor-level contamination to extruded metals, and a navigational barrier. Downtime in coil processes can impact thousands of feet of continuous production.
• Solution:  Walk on duty, roll-up pit covers maximize safety, equipment protection, access, and uptime. These can also be automated to travel with equipment, or for fast pit access when needed. Partnering with specialized manufacturers like Dynatect allows for the development of safety pit covers tailored to specific space constraints and operational needs.

Dynatect can supply a roll-up pit cover with an electric gear motor. Please discuss your requirements at the time of quote. Watch the animation below for an example of a cover designed to roll up onto a scroll within a protective canister.

Dynatect’s Steelflex covers for machine tool applications are often supplied with an air motor and air brake. Air motors are unidirectional and only keep the shade tight on the take-up drum. A machine or actuator is required to extend and retract the shade. If the air is turned off, an air brake is recommended.

The following example showcases a Steelflex walk-on pit cover at a vehicle inspection facility. Click on the video for a short clip of the pit cover in action.