Megatraction Equipment Inc. has developed and manufactures a wide variety of specialized equipment as Multi-Task Service Truck, Material Handling, Lifting and Handling Devices for personnel as well as equipment, man-lift for inspection and repair for example.

This specialized lifting system is in use since 1994 for handling the anodic superstructures used in the aluminium smelters. The system is equipped on one side of rotating L-shaped arms, which rotation allows clearance for inserting the superstructure into the lifting system. On the other side, fixed and extendable L-shape arms allow for locking both parts together, once the superstructure is in place, to form rigid frames, which support the superstructure at each end.

The lifting system is made to be adaptable to any specific plant overhead travelling crane, which would be used in such plant. While not apparent in those pictures, secondary lifting devices allow for holding anodic flexible arms rigidly in place during any movement of the superstructure.

Made all of antimagnetic material, this lifting system has allowed reducing the initial downtime and labour for moving a superstructure from the electrolysis pot room to the maintenance shop down from forty man-hours to as low as four man-hours.

This specialised manlift has been developed to ease and secure access for the inspection and maintenance of the deep cells of the anodes furnaces used for baking anodes blocks used in the aluminium smelters.

Preventive inspection and maintenance of these narrow-deep slot type cells and their separation brick walls is essential but has always been a bothering task for the operation and maintenance people.

The basic problems stand in the total dependence of the old concept of double hoists flying platform from the anode furnace service crane. Moreover, this old concept equipment is inflexible in many aspects and might become really unsafe in case of emergency and temporary unavailability of the service crane to quickly recover the demanding workers from the bottom of the cell.

Reversibly, this 2-places manlift is totally autonomous, flexible and safe based on its revolutionary concept package including the following components :

• Motorization of the main frame allowing autonomous transversal moves from one cell to the others;

• Motorization of the suspended manlift allowing lateral moves on the full width of the cells;

• Motorization of the retractable supporting arm allowing perfectly vertical moves of the manlift from the top to the bottom of the 700 mm narrow cells over an height of up to 7000 mm;

Moreover, the manlift has the following safety components :

• Move horn, rotating light, regular and emergency lighting systems;

• Dynamic braking system on the manlift;

• Two-position operating control station, from the manlift and from the operating floor;

• Emergency ejecting ladder in case of electrical power failure;

This manlift has successfully passed the most severe risks studies and performance tests and is applicable to any narrow deep slot or cell access needs like anode furnaces and other similar industrial equipment and installation.