Transporting machinery with air-cushion technology

Vibration-free moving heavy machinery and loads

When it comes to moving heavy and sensitive loads, air cushion technology has a number of advantages in comparison to conventional transport methods for machine relocation and installation. The force required to move a machine is  small, as it is supported by a thin, continuous film of air, creating a virtually frictionless levitation.

Loads can  be positioned with millimetre precision and  be lifted, lowered, rotated and moved without causing any vibration. This guarantees optimum manoeuvrability of the load in confined spaces for a wide range of rigging and move in projects.

Advantages of air cushion technology: flexibility, safety, efficiency

It is this high degree of flexibility, manoeuvrability and true ease of use that makes air cushions the ideal choice for machine relocation, provided nearly perfect transport conditions are met.

They are flexible because the individual load modules, into which the thin and powerful air film is compressed, can be adjusted precisely to suit the load to be transported. This means that nearly every type of machine can be transported: Bulky laboratory equipment, sensitive semiconductor production tools into cleanrooms or massive 60-tonne diesel engines. The air cushions are easy to maneuver because the system hovers almost weightlessly above the ground.

Fitters can safely move machines and components weighing several tonnes and with minimal effort, rotate them smoothly through 360° and align precisely. All of this makes the technology not only reliable, but also cost-effective. However, the on site conditions, particularly along the transport route, must be nearly perfect.

Use of air cushion technology: cleanrooms in the semiconductor industry

At SCHOLPP, for example, air cushion technology is used moving in prodcution tools into cleanrooms of the semiconductor industry. The tools to be transported are mostly highly sensitive and, thanks to air cushions, they glide vibration-free to their final location. Plastic or stainless steel plates are  laid seamlessly to form a base for transport.

They form a smooth surface on which the air cushion with the load can glide smoothly, without any loss of pressure or disruption of the air film. Thus we can distributes the point load over a larger area and move heavy machinery safely in cleanrooms even where the floor has a minimal load-bearing capacity.

White paper: Moving production equipment safely in cleanrooms