• Products
• Applications
• Advantages
• Process
• Noise Levels

Products:
Serapid manufactures the LinkLift™ Rigid Chain products specifically designed for lifting.

Applications:

The most common applications are orchestra pits lifts (or stage platforms), and lifting tables for stages with modular areas.The purpose of this page is to present the advantages of Serapid Linklift products intended for use in a theatre or auditorium environment. This type of environment involves lifting orchestra pits, stage platforms, scenery lifts, get-in lifts, choral risers and elevating tables.

Advantages:

• Silence : 45 dBA at 50 mm/s (1.9 in./s). Combined with a low-noise motor drive, this feature allows the chain to be operated during a performance.
• Precision :The link plates are precision-formed to within a 100th of a mm thanks to a highly accurate manufacturing technique developed for the automotive industry.Such precision guarantees positioning to within a millimeter.
• Speed : Speeds of up to 200 mm/s (7.9 in./s).We recommend this as a normal operating speed, but higher speeds are possible; please consult us for specific information.
• Low maintenance : Nothing more than annual lubrication is necessary, in a well maintained theatre environment.
• Reliability : Foolproof pinion/chain gearing. The system incorporates a minimum number of slow moving parts.
• Sécurity : The chain is capable of applying thrust in addition to dynamic traction guaranteeing movement irrespective of the flexibility and position of the load on the platform.In the case of an accidental impact, the quality of the materials used and their design protects against any distortion of component parts.Under normal use conditions the chain cannot be unlocked.

The Operating Process:

The mechanical principle of the Linklift consists in moving a special chain from its horizontal storage position into its vertical working position in order tolift a load.The chain is driven by 2 or 4 twin pinions in the drive housing. It is also guided to move from the horizontal position into the vertical position and to optimise chain link locking. A rotating shaft drives the pinions and moves the chain in both directions in a linear movement. The chain system is not self-sustaining and requires a braking system to hold a position.The chain is able to exert a dynamic thrust force aswell to maintain the load in tension. This quality is particularly advantageous when the system is used for structures subjected to external dynamic loads.This is particularly true in the case of cruise liners or in seismic risk environments.Owing to the chain links and guiding in the housing, the platform is always held down firmly. It must also be noted that an eccentric load being moved on aplatform will not affect the stability of the system during operation.

To operate effectively, two conditions must be satisfied :

1. The structure to be lifted must be well guided in the vertical direction.
2. The surface area of the platform, to which the attachment link is fixed, must be parallel to the base on which the drive housing is installed.