Vacuum, Pneumatic, Robotic, and Magnetic Ergonomic Lift Assist Devices
Ergonomic lift assist devices are tools and systems that help workers lift, move, and carry heavy loads and awkward objects. These devices reduce the risk of injury associated with repetitive lifting and create a safer and more efficient work environment.
As a leader in material handling solutions, Ergonomic Partners' specialty is our ergonomic lift assist devices. We have experience working across a wide range of industries developing ergonomic solutions that enhance both worker safety and productivity. Our team of experts work closely with our customers to design lift assist devices that are tailored to their material handling needs.
From vacuum lifts to manipulator arms, EP can develop custom lift assists that address your unique material handling challenges. We have developed ergonomic material handling solutions that include: vacuum grippers, pneumatic grippers, mechanical grippers, electromagnetic tooling, permanent magnet grippers, intelligent lifting devices, along with a host of other custom end effectors. Browse our comprehensive range of custom lift assists below to learn more!
Why Use Ergonomic Lift Assists?
An ergonomic approach to lifting can minimize awkward working postures, heavy lifting, forceful exertions, and manual carrying of materials. Ergonomic devices eliminate unnatural motions and greatly reduce the risk of back, neck, shoulder, and wrist strain. Special lifting devices for rolls, glass, or panels can be more productive than manual handling, especially when long work hours and fatigue are considered contributors to costly repetitive motion, musculoskeletal, and back injuries. So investing in ergonomic lift assists can prove more beneficial by reducing worker injuries and compensation claims.
Material handling applications come in all shapes and sizes. Ergonomic Partners has experience developing ergonomic lift assists for many manufacturing and specialty applications, including work areas that have close quarters, various working elevations, and process production lines. We can develop custom tooling for manipulator arms, jib cranes, intelligent lifting arms, chain hoists, and other material handling equipment. End effectors can include anything from standard hooks, electromagnets, and core grips, as well as pneumatic clamps or vacuum cups. We can design end of arm tooling to handle materials including: sheet metal, panels, plywood, planks, boxes, stone slabs, windows, doors, rolls, castings, glass, parts, and more. They can also be equipped with up-end, down-end, rotate, pitch, and tilt functions. Check out our short videos of Lift Assists and Vacuum Lifters in action here.
In most cases, custom lift assists are not built until the engineer, line worker, and your Ergonomic Partners representative collaborate and refine the lifting devices' design and use. Ergonomic Partners recommends that we perform a pre-installation run-off of lifting your material at our tooling fabrication center. This allows our engineers to get a more hands-on feel for the refinement of the custom tool before installing it in your facility.
At Ergonomic Partners, we believe that the safety of the tooling comes first with the simplicity of the lifting device a close second. Give us a call at (314) 884-8884 to let us help with your material handling needs.
An ergonomic lift assist device is a tool or system that helps workers lift, move, and position heavy or awkward loads with minimal physical effort. These devices — including vacuum lifters, pneumatic grippers, manipulator arms, and magnetic end effectors — reduce the risk of back, shoulder, and wrist injuries caused by repetitive lifting and manual handling. Every device Ergonomic Partners builds is engineered around the specific part geometry, weight, and motion requirements of your application.
Ergonomic Partners engineers custom lift assist devices across six primary categories:
- Vacuum lift assists — suction-based handling for smooth, non-porous surfaces
- Pneumatic grippers — air-actuated jaws for cylinders, castings, bags, and spools
- Manipulator arms — articulating arms for reach-in, reach-under, and precision placement
- Mechanical gripper tools — clamps and fixtures for rigid, predictable part geometries
- Magnetic gripper tools — electromagnet and permanent magnet end effectors for ferrous parts
- Custom material handling tools — fully engineered solutions when standard categories don't fit
Each device is designed to match your specific part, process, and work cell. Contact our engineers to discuss your application.
Vacuum lifters use suction cups to grip smooth, non-porous surfaces such as glass, sheet metal, boxes, and flat panels. They require an unobstructed, relatively flat contact area and a reliable seal. Pneumatic grippers use air-actuated jaws or fingers to grip parts by their outer diameter, inner diameter, or profile — making them the right choice for cylinders, castings, bags, spools, and irregularly shaped parts that vacuum cannot grip reliably. When in doubt, our engineers will evaluate your part and recommend the right approach.
Ergonomic lift assist devices are used across a wide range of manufacturing industries, including automotive, HVAC, aerospace, appliance, glass and glazing, food and beverage, printing, tire, and general industrial manufacturing. Any application involving repetitive lifting, two-operator lifts, or awkward part orientations is a strong candidate for a custom lift assist solution. If your team lifts the same part more than a few times per shift, there's likely a device that can do it safer and faster.