[Ed from NY]

What is the best way to move a VMC15 around the shop without a forklift?

I have a few stretches but a few turns as well

Thanks!

[Delw]

soap and pick up truck?

Skates work if you can rent them

[Ed from NY]

Thanks! Will have to find where to rent them... just place the suckers on the edges, under the channels used for the forks?

[Delw]

the skates wont reach that high, use the channels to jack the machine up to put the skates on.
It may be cheaper and safer to rent a forklift or have someone do it if you never moved a machine.
I say that because one screw up and it will cost you more to fix then to rent.

Delw

[Ed from NY]

I have a forklift but the forks are not long enough and it is only 5000 lbs

[DareBee]

Jacks and skates.

It is amazing how quickly you can rack up 20G in good equipment moving items.
That is why most places call experienced movers.

I was picking up a machine awhile back and witnessed some guys moving something the old pipe method.
You could tell they had no idea what they where doing, it was very amusing.
Funny - people like putting their expensive stuff in the care of the lowest bidder.

[Ed from NY]

Yes, pipes definitely not an option I'm considering for this

[mfgbydesign]

Place the machine on a single concrete slab, no expansion joints or cracks under the machine. Keep it away from an outside wall to avoid temperature variation through the floor.

After the move check the level and squares. We moved a Fadal once and the XY square was off about .010 which wasn't discovered until we scrapped a large piece.

[Ed from NY]

Got a reasonable price for the skate rentals and for an all terrain forklift. Will probably need extensions on the forks. So if I rent those I'll try to move it on the inside with the smallish 5000 lbs forklift. If it does not work then I'll have the skates. I'm also quoting a couple of riggers, but it is a small and odd job (because of the all terrain lift). So the one guy that gave me a quote thus far was over 3x what would be my equipment rental cost. That is probably fair from his perspective because he would tie up a crew for 1/2 a day (perhaps more depending on travel) and probably rent the lift as well. I'm still waiting on a second quote, before I pull the trigger on doing on our own.

Place the machine on a single concrete slab, no expansion joints or cracks under the machine. Keep it away from an outside wall to avoid temperature variation through the floor.

After the move check the level and squares. We moved a Fadal once and the XY square was off about .010 which wasn't discovered until we scrapped a large piece.

Thanks for the tips!

I'm thinking of getting a Fadal guy to check out the machine and get me up and running. Will see what happens when I plug it in

[DareBee]

Yep - needing an allterain lift will be a bit of a monkey wrench. (additional cost).

Would it be possible to put the VMC on a truck. Truck it across the rough terrain and then forklift again (indoor forklift).
You might find that a crane would be more feasible. Lift it off the skates, swing across and set it on the skates.

BTW - the "caterpillar" type skates kinda suck (often the only thing available for rent (probably haven't used mine for 10 years)). The 5 or 6 urethane wheel skates are the best.
Enerpac hydraulic jack for lifting.
Push or pull with your 5000#

[Ed from NY]

A crane would be sweet!

[Ed from NY]

Got myself in a bit of a pickle. Can someone check the clearance under the sheetmetal next to the lifting channels?

I thought I could lift it with a lever but I do not have enough room for a lever that is long enough in the back. So I can rent a toe jack, but the Hilman that I found around here requires 14" clearance.

I'm not going to be able to check till tonight and the move is tomorrow. So it would be great if someone checked if we can slide something 14" tall next to the lifting railings/channels . Thanks in any case

[Ed from NY]

The moving was intense. I'll sleep well tonight!

We moved the Fadal plus some other machinery. It rained cats and dogs in the middle of it and I got a regular forklift stuck in the mud

Still there... not sure how we will pull it out. We have a dump truck and a 8000 lbs AWD rough terrain forklift (that thing is fun!). I'm sure we will get it out once things dry out, but it was funny!

The Fadal was freaking heavy!!! It got the back wheels of my regular 5,000 lbs forklift up in the air. That was not much use other than to get the skates under it.

Over the weekend I'll be running a few new bay lights and new circuitry for a couple of machines.

I'll probably put the Fadal on a 10ga wire and 30A plug as opposed to a direct connection with 6ga or 8ga wire. That should be fine right?

[Delw]

I wouldnt reccomend a plug ONLY HARD WIRE. a plug will actually burn out after a while due to a light contact and not a heavy contact. plus having a loose slip fit contection like a plug in will cause your machine to amp more.
30amps shouldnt be any problem unless you hoggin and using all axis.
Spindle Start up is what draws the most amps, when its running it will run on 15-20 amps.no problem.
Hard wire it with #8 or #6 and be done with it, you dnt want to start dicking with electrical problems down the road cause your incoming power sucks

[Ed from NY]

Okay, going with hard wire then

Thanks!