RDO Equipment Co. - Burnsville Builds Gripper Forks for Customer
Posted 06/02/2010 —The Burnsville shop recently fabricated their second fork carriage with gripper attachments for use with Gehl All Terrain fork lifts. These lifts are used by a large electric company's line crews to move swamp matting in wet areas. This swamp matting is then laid down, and trucks and heavy equipment are able to drive on it.
Burnsville Service Technicians Rex Greicar and Cory Perkins worked on this project, and also the first set of gripper forks. On the first set, Rex and Cory copied a pre-made design, but for this set, they made their own design from scratch.
A lot of work went into the creation of these gripper forks. First, Rex made detailed drawings of the forks. The drawings were then sent to a local fabrication shop that cut the steel for the job. Next, Rex welded the carriage and Cory machined the bores and fabricated the pins. Both Rex and Cory are certified welders in unlimited thickness and all-position welding for tool steel.
The unit was then sand blasted and painted by an outside vendor. After paint, Rex and Cory assembled the unit by installing cylinders and hydraulic lines.
Matt Dull, Burnsville General Manager, added, "This is a great example of Rex and Cory partnering to provide an innovative solution to our customer."
