What could go wrong when moving a mill on skates?

Yamahonda450 · Mar 15, 2017

The question: If something unexpected happens while moving a KITAMURA MYCENTER-1 CNC MILL on skates and it is supported on only 2 or 3 corners by skates, or if it tips slightly during moving, will the frame be bent causing damage that would impact machine performance?

The details:

We are trying to plan out how we will move our KITAMURA MYCENTER-1 CNC MILL into position. The forklift can only get it in the door. Once the mill is in the door we will need to move it about 20 feet in x, and 5 feet in y. We like to do things ourselves to save money but we also want to make sure there's not a big potential for damage. I watched a video of a guy moving a machine on skates and one skate got stuck and the machine almost slid off the one skate. I'm looking specifically for input on potential damage if that happens or any other mode of damage so we can determine if this is something we should take on ourselves. We have 10 people that could help spot and a very flat and level concrete floor. Thanks

dkmc · Mar 15, 2017

Who's "setting it in the door"......a rigger?
So for THEM to move it on skates the extra 20ft x 5 ft might be like....$100 maybe?
Based on the uncertain tone of your questions, get THEM to do the job complete,
and assume all risk. Then get on with what your best at.

Mister Murphy keeps a keen eye out for folks like you....don't let him GET you.

moonlight machine · Mar 15, 2017

Make sure the floor is well swept, use only 3 skates, as long as you are not stupid you will be fine.

D.D.Machine · Mar 15, 2017

I move 18,000 machines all the time by my self ,,, grizzly has some skates with 4 wheels each and you need three of them .. order a Toe jack off ebay . I think the 7 ton was like $270 or so ...

get home dump to cut a sheet of 1/2" plywood into 8" squares

most of the weight on a cnc mill is on the back feet so jack up one rear corner so you can block it then then go do the other side ,, just keep switching back and forth tell you can get the skates under the rear two feet ,,, FYI put a thin squage of wood between the skate and the machine base ,,, you never want metal on metal in that it slides.
put the jack in the center on the front and jack it up tell you can get a skate under the front center ... one person can push a 18k machine around if the wheels are in all line ,, if one skate gets out of alignment at all it stops moving ...

just watch the skates dont try and walk out from under the machine ,,, and "NEVER" try and use 4 skates

Davis In SC · Mar 15, 2017

A trick I like is to put some wood/plank/board, that is a little shorter than the skate height. put at least 2 of these, one near each end of the machine. As you move the machine, move the wood along... if a skate slips out, wood will catch machine to keep from tipping. For long moves across a shop, you can even attach a rope or cord to each end of the boards to drag them along close to the skates.

ewlsey · Mar 15, 2017

It's takes some work to really destroy a machine tool. I've seen them fall off the skates. It's happened to me before. No big deal really. The forces are no more than riding on the truck that delivered it. Just don't flip it over.

Oldwrench · Mar 15, 2017

OP, you have heard how to do it from several people...none of whose insurance companies will pay in the event your machine gets damaged or somebody gets his fingers crushed. Pay the riggers to set the machine where you want it, it will be cheaper than your machinists' time.

gbent · Mar 15, 2017

Forget the skates. Get some 1 to 1 1/2" solid round hot rolled. It comes in 20' sticks. You need at least 6 pieces, about 1 foot longer than the base of the machine. Set the machine on the round, angled toward the destination. You can easily walk the machine along with a rigging bar.

Davis In SC · Mar 15, 2017

ewlsey said:
It's takes some work to really destroy a machine tool. I've seen them fall off the skates. It's happened to me before. No big deal really. The forces are no more than riding on the truck that delivered it. Just don't flip it over.

I lent my skates to a company that needed to move a 5,000 pound molding machine (small one) out, They turned it over, spilling 50 gallons of oil, and almost crushing 2 men.. It was all caught on the security cams... Lucky no injuries/deaths.

ewlsey · Mar 15, 2017

Davis In SC said:
I lent my skates to a company that needed to move a 5,000 pound molding machine (small one) out, They turned it over, spilling 50 gallons of oil, and almost crushing 2 men.. It was all caught on the security cams... Lucky no injuries/deaths.

Don't venture over to the home shop forum. There's plenty of posts there about guys who "saved money" moving machines and ended up ass over tea kettle.

Davis In SC · Mar 15, 2017

ewlsey said:
Don't venture over to the home shop forum. There's plenty of posts there about guys who "saved money" moving machines and ended up ass over tea kettle.

Yes, I know one guy that was moving a Knuth lathe in his shop, Only 3 "face plants", moving it in..

DavidScott · Mar 15, 2017

I used 6' lengths of 1-1/2" steel pipe to move my Mycenter1. I don't move machines enough to buy skates. Pipe is cheap and easy to store outside. The closer to the ground you keep it the safer everything is, this goes for forklifts too. You won't harm the base on this mill, it is STIFF.

Houndogforever · Mar 15, 2017

Use the Tutankhamen method. Smear a bunch of grease on the floor and have a million slaves drag it into position.

Dan from Oakland · Mar 15, 2017

The advice to use 3 skates along with safties under each corner is good info if you end up doing it yourself. if the skates make you nervous, the pipe or round bar solution is pretty solid. Main rule is keep body parts out from under the load, don't get in a rush and 1 guy is the boss.
Otherwise, let the rigg

Garwood · Mar 16, 2017

If you have no experience I think it's a good idea to pay riggers and watch closely. Also, I can't imagine it costing anything for them to do what you're asking about here. Setting it on skates, pushing 20 feet and setting down is 10-15 minutes tops. Even at $250/hr that's pretty cheap.

In Oregon you can rent 10K lb trailers at rental yards. If you had some experience doing this stuff you can move a little VMC very easily with a 10K drop deck and skates or pipes. Portland Rental on Stark has a decent one for $75/day.

BobRenz · Mar 16, 2017

gbent said:
Forget the skates. Get some 1 to 1 1/2" solid round hot rolled. It comes in 20' sticks. You need at least 6 pieces, about 1 foot longer than the base of the machine. Set the machine on the round, angled toward the destination. You can easily walk the machine along with a rigging bar.

I totally agree - rollers are probably the safest way to move a machine. It might help if you also have one or two hydraulic machinery jacks available (Jet jacks are available through Northern Tool - Quality Tools for Serious Work at a reasonable price). Pieces of plywood for jack pads are also handy, plus you can raise or lower the machine slowly and in small bites with a prybar (AKA - a "skitter" bar)

If you take your time, the move should be simple.

danil · Mar 16, 2017

Great advise above; I'd just let the rigger move it if you're not planning on doing this on a regular basis.

I have skates, 3 sets of them. Not a big fan of metal on metal(skate on frame)-- my new favorites have rubber pads on to with a gripping pattern molded into them. The Hillman style seem to have a taller height and narrower contact on the floor-- my latest set is low profile with plastic wheels like the Vestil SSKT-3 you can find on ebay.

The problems arise when one skate zigs when another zags. To prevent this, make a bar to lock the 2 non-steer skates parallel to each other.

Last year, I moved a VMC on Air-Skates-- that was really cool. Take a 12,000 machine and easily push it across the room and rotate effortlessly-- had to use them for the low profile aspect to get through doors in the place we picked up the machine. The problem there was bridging the concrete joints in the floor-- those tend to let the air escape too much.

The move that made the guys nervous was a 75 ton Hydraulic press that stood 9-1/2' tall with about a 3 foot wide base. Any tipping effect seemed to be so exaggerated topside. Unfortunately, we had to use 4 skates due to the construction of the base. It only ran on 3 skates, but all 4 had to be in place when needed.

toolsteel · Mar 16, 2017

BobRenz said:
I totally agree - rollers are probably the safest way to move a machine. It might help if you also have one or two hydraulic machinery jacks available (Jet jacks are available through Northern Tool - Quality Tools for Serious Work at a reasonable price). Pieces of plywood for jack pads are also handy, plus you can raise or lower the machine slowly and in small bites with a prybar (AKA - a "skitter" bar)

If you take your time, the move should be simple.

Helped my former father in law move probably a dozen different machines using pipes and a bar. It always worked good for us. Clean level floor is essential. It also saved my bacon a couple of times that he was experienced at it and kept my ass out of the way for the "thinking" part of it lol....

alskdjfhg · Mar 16, 2017

Rigging isn't black magic, just needs a bit of experience, common sense, and team work. But its also got a steep learning curve and if something goes wrong, easy for someone to get hurt.

I'd also suggest pipes instead of rollers.

I was moving this yesterday;

24,800lbs. Probably took more time jacking it down onto the rollers than rolling it.

Pipes belong to a PM member who was guiding me as I pushed with the loader.

Riggers got it out of the building and had to fly it over 2 other machines with a versalift. So much easeir on me to just sit back and watch, their 1500 fee was cheap.

JNieman · Mar 16, 2017

Oldwrench said:
OP, you have heard how to do it from several people...none of whose insurance companies will pay in the event your machine gets damaged or somebody gets his fingers crushed. Pay the riggers to set the machine where you want it, it will be cheaper than your machinists' time.

^This.

Plus, the riggers will do it faster that you ever thought possible. We have are lucky to have pretty good riggers locally that have been doing it a long time. I remember about 15 years ago when one guy was setting parts of a tubing laser into place at a former place of work. Couldn't get machines in the door to set them down, so they were using long-boom lifts to move and set them down. I was amazed how that guy could swing and move components in small increments and surgical precision at a pretty quick pace.

When it comes to moving simple mills, they'd do it in their sleep, just about. And wouldn't miss a step, and would know a lot of simple safety tips they do every day. It'll be moved and in place w/in 1/4" before you could brew a pot of coffee. Only slightly exaggerating.

They're worth every penny.

ETA: We have skates, but the only moving we do in-house, is minor re-arrangement of machine cells. in/out the building or major moves get hired out.

What could go wrong when moving a mill on skates?

Plastic

Diamond

Diamond

Stainless

Diamond

Diamond

Titanium

Diamond

Diamond

Diamond

Diamond

Diamond

Hot Rolled

Titanium

Diamond

Stainless

Cast Iron

Titanium

Diamond

Titanium

Similar threads