75 lb Tire Manipulator Arm

The client needed a safe and ergonomic lift assist solution to move 75 lbs tires for a side-by-side assembly process.

GCI designed an industrial manipulator arm with a 10′ reach for operators to pick and place tires. The end-effector is customer-engineered with internal linkages to ensure the gripper bars all engage the tire simultaneously. The hole through the center of the gripper allows the operator to see better and line up the part on the main assembly.

The operator manages these operations from the control handles using intuitive thumb levers. To help keep these controls within an ideal ergonomic range (ie the ergonomic power zone is close to the body from knees to shoulders), the linear balance handle keeps the handles stationary while the gripper moves up and down.