Custom Drum Lifter with Dumper for Metal, Plastic, and Fiber Drums

Ergonomic Partners engineered a versatile drum handling system for a manufacturing client who needed to safely manage multiple drum types in their industrial facility. The challenge required a solution that could:

• Handle drums ranging from 15 to 25 inches in diameter.
• Safely lift and manipulate steel, plastic, and fiber drums.
• Mount to an existing overhead crane system.

While the initial request was for a simple drum hoist, our engineering team developed a more comprehensive solution: a crane-mounted handling system that would not only lift drums but also provide controlled rotation for precise pouring operations.

Plastic, Metal, and Fiber Drum Lifter with Rotate

Plastic, Metal, and Fiber Drum Handler Tool

55 Gallon Drum Dumper

Drum Lifting Challenges

Without custom tooling to lift the wide range of drums, the customer had issues with the following:

• Musculoskeletal injuries due to lifting heavy weights in a bad ergonomic position.
• Inaccurate pour amounts by the operator due to the inability to control the rotation of the drum.
• Spills from lack of control in the lifting and pouring of the drum.
• Lack of productivity due to the speed of a manual lift and dump.

Drum Dumping Solution and Key Features

• Lift: Designed a drum lifter to go on a hoist.
• Capacity: 600 lbs.
• Diameter Range: 15 inches to 25 inches.
• Material: Smaller fiber drums, larger plastic drums, and up to 55 gallon steel drums.
• Gripping: Custom flexible rubber jaws were designed to equally spread out the load and make maximum surface area contact.
• Rotation: 180 degree electric motor rotation with worm gear was provided with momentary rotation controls to allow for precise pouring angles.
• Ergonomics: Floating handle on rodless cylinder allowed the operator to keep their hands in a safe ergonomic range while maneuvering the tool.
• Safety: Anti-Drop circuits were added to prevent accidental release in mid air. Check valves were added to lock the part in place in case air was lost. Additional jaws were added to support to the part from below, in case any slipping in the jaws would occur.
• Integration: This was integrated into a Gorbel crane.

Custom Drum Lifter Results

• Customer was able to load a pallet full of multiple drums of any kind of material.
• This made them faster when handling the drums.
• Safety incidents went to zero. Strains and ergonomic issues were eliminated.
• Spills and overpouring of product went substantially down.

This project highlights the successful partnership between the customer and Ergonomic Partners, showcasing the importance of working with ergonomic experts to develop tailored solutions. Having engineering design custom drum handling tools can significantly improve worker safety, efficiency, and ergonomics in manufacturing environments.

Other Drum Lifting Solutions