Glossary

The same thing, many names.

Handling technology or handling engineering. Lifting aid or manipulator. Material handling or material flow technology. In this market the same unit goes by different names depending on the supplier — here are the common terms and what they mean technically.

Terms: 37

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ATEX Also: Explosion protection · Hazardous area · Directive 2014/34/EU: The framework for equipment in potentially explosive atmospheres. The zone defined by the operator in the explosion protection document determines the required equipment category; explosion group and temperature class are added. Pneumatic units are often the simpler route here because no electric drive sits in the field. More on this
Articulated arm Also: Jointed arm · Articulated jib · Knickarm: A two-section arm system with a joint in the middle. It folds and extends and thereby reaches, from one fixed position, points that are hidden on a straight line. That is why articulated arms are used wherever guard doors, machines or racking are in the way. More on this
Automation technology Also: Industrial automation · Semi-automation: Technology that carries out processes without continuous human intervention. In handling there is a broad middle ground: semi-automated units in which the operator guides and the technology holds. It is more economical wherever variants, rework or visual inspection are involved. More on this
Balancer Also: Rope balancer · Weight compensator · Zero-gravity balancer: Device that compensates the weight of a load through a rope or chain so that it stands almost weightless in the air. It holds the load but does not guide it: lateral forces remain with the operator. For free lifting, transferring and long strokes the balancer is the fastest solution. More on this
CE marking Also: Machinery Directive · Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 · Declaration of conformity: The visible result of complete technical documentation: risk assessment to EN ISO 12100, design records, test reports, operating instructions and the EU declaration of conformity. From 20 January 2027 the Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 applies in place of Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC. More on this
Coil handling Also: Strip handling · Bundle handling · Coilhandling: Handling of coiled strip and sheet material in steelworks, cold rolling mills and downstream processing. The task is usually solved with a mandrel or C-hook, because the coil allows a form-fit pick-up. Critical points are edge protection, centre of gravity and securing against unrolling. More on this
Conveying technology Also: Lifting and conveying technology · Continuous conveyor · Discontinuous conveyor: The technology of continuous or indexed transport of goods – belts, roller conveyors, chain conveyors, cranes. It bridges distances, while handling technology works at the transfer points. Both fields are considered together in material flow planning. More on this
Equipment finder Also: Product finder · Selection guide · Configurator: Our tool for the first step: describe the handling task in your own words and you receive a shortlist of suitable units with reasoning. It does not replace the conversation with an engineer, but it shortens it considerably. More on this
Ergonomics Also: Workplace ergonomics · Key indicator method · Manual handling regulations: The design of work around human characteristics. For handling the rule is: German manual handling regulations set no limit value but require a risk assessment – the key indicator method of the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health provides the score from weight, frequency, posture and working conditions. More on this
Feeding technology Also: Feeding systems · Part feeding · Presentation: Technology that brings parts to the place of processing in the right orientation and on takt. In hand-guided handling it mainly means that the pick-up position has to be arranged so the gripper reaches it in a single movement – otherwise you create the time that is later blamed on the unit. More on this
Gripping technology Also: Gripping systems · Grippers · Greiftechnik: Everything that sits between the unit and the load. Four working principles are distinguished: vacuum, friction via clamps, form fit via the part geometry, and mandrel or hook. The choice of principle determines pick-up time, process reliability and the dead weight on the arm – and thus the success of the whole project. More on this
Handling systems Also: Handling equipment · Handhabungssysteme · Handhabungssysteme: Term for matched assemblies of supporting, lifting and gripping units that together solve a handling task. Unlike “device”, it stresses that rail system, manipulator, gripper and control are designed as one system. In English-speaking markets “handling systems” is the usual collective term. More on this
Handling technology Also: Handling engineering · Assembly and handling technology · Handhabungstechnik: Umbrella term for all technical means by which loads are picked up, moved, positioned and set down within a workstation or plant. It covers hand-guided equipment such as manipulators and balancers as well as semi- and fully automated systems. It is distinguished from conveying technology, which handles continuous transport, and from robotics, which replaces the operator rather than supporting them. More on this
Heavy load handling Also: Heavy-duty handling · Heavy-load manipulator: Handling of loads above the range covered by hand-guided standard units. Honest demarcation matters here: above roughly 125 kilograms either a special design or a crane with a suitable lifting device is the right answer – a manipulator is not a crane substitute. More on this
Intralogistics Also: Internal logistics · Transport technology: The organisation and technical realisation of all material and goods flows within a site. Lifting aids and balancers are used here above all at picking, packing and transfer stations, where high repetition at moderate weights creates the strain. More on this
Lifting aid Also: Lifting aids · Lifting device · Hebehilfe · Umschlaghilfe: Collective term for all equipment that relieves people when lifting and guiding loads – balancers, manipulators, lifting axes and vacuum lifters all belong here. The term says nothing about the design, only about the purpose. It is more common in occupational safety than in engineering. More on this
Lifting axis Also: Linear axis · Z axis · Lifting column: A vertically working guided axis that raises and lowers the load rigidly. It is slim, torsionally stiff and particularly suited to joining tasks in which the load has to be guided exactly vertically. More on this
Lifting device Also: Load lifting attachment · Lifting beam · C-hook · Lastaufnahmemittel: A component between lifting equipment and load that is not part of the lifting equipment itself – for example a beam, tongs, a vacuum lifter or a C-hook. Non-fixed lifting devices fall under standard EN 13155 and require their own conformity assessment as well as recurring inspection. More on this
Lifting equipment Also: Hoisting equipment · Winches, lifting and pulling devices: A legally defined term for equipment used to raise loads. Lifting equipment is work equipment under German industrial safety regulations and is subject to recurring inspection under DGUV Rule 54 – as a rule annually, by a competent person. More on this
Lifting technology Also: Lifting and conveying technology · Hoisting technology: The field concerned with raising and lowering loads – from the chain hoist through the balancer to the crane. In practice the term is often paired with conveying technology, because both interlock in a plant’s material flow. More on this
Manipulator Also: Industrial manipulator · Handling device · Articulated-arm manipulator: Hand-guided device with rigid kinematics that carries the load while the operator only guides it. Unlike a balancer, the rigid arm also absorbs lateral forces and tilting moments – which makes it the right design as soon as parts are joined, rotated or worked against a stop. Common types are pillar, articulated-arm and lifting-axis units. More on this
Material flow technology Also: Material flow · Conveying technology · Internal transport technology: The planning and technology of the route material takes through a plant – from delivery through processing to despatch. Handling devices are the nodes of that flow: they take over wherever material is transferred, turned or handed on. More on this
Material handling Also: Materialhandling · Material flow · Materialfluss: The movement, storage, protection and control of material within a plant. The term is broader than handling technology and includes storage, conveying and transport operations. In international tenders “material handling” is the usual collective term. More on this
Order picking Also: Picking · Order assembly · Kommissionierung: Assembling articles into an order. What is demanding here is rarely the individual weight but the sum: 800 parcels per shift add up to several tonnes. Lifting aids keep the pick rate constant across the shift – the effect that appears in no accident statistic. More on this
Payload Also: Rated capacity · Working load limit · Traglast: The mass a unit may guide at the tool interface – including gripper, adapter and attachments. Figures quoted without the tool are worthless in service, because the gripper adds between eight and thirty kilograms depending on its design. More on this
Positioning technology Also: Positioning systems · Fine positioning: Technology that does not merely move a load but brings it into a precisely defined position and holds it there. In hand-guided handling that means low-reaction movement, a limited final speed and an arm that leaves the load standing as soon as the hand releases it. More on this
Rail system Also: Light crane · Light crane system · Crane runway · Monorail · Overhead track: A girder structure on which a handling device travels, allowing it to reach every point of a line or area. Designs include the single-girder system for one line, the area system of main and cross girders, and the monorail with switches. From roughly three similar workstations it is usually cheaper than individual units. More on this
Recurring inspection Also: Periodic inspection · DGUV Rule 54 · UVV-Prüfung: The recurring inspection of lifting equipment and slings by a competent person – as a rule annually. It has to be documented in the inspection log; without documentation it counts as not having taken place. The exact interval is derived from the risk assessment. More on this
Rilsan coating Also: Food-grade coating · Polyamide powder coating: A food-grade polyamide powder coating that forms a closed, pore-free film. It is impact resistant and withstands the alkaline and acidic cleaners common in food production – and, unlike ordinary paint, offers germs no foothold. More on this
Robotics Also: Industrial robotics · Industrial robot · Cobot: Programmable kinematics that performs a defined movement independently. It is superior when the same movement repeats very often and the process stays stable. As soon as variants, rework or short runs appear, the hand-guided manipulator is usually the more economical choice. More on this
Roll handling Also: Reel handling · Spool handling · Rollenhandling: Handling of film, paper, non-woven and cable reels as well as rolls in printing, packaging and converting. Setting a reel onto the mandrel is the classic two-person task – and one of the cases in which a lifting aid pays for itself fastest. More on this
Sheet and panel handling Also: Panel handling · Sheet metal handling · Blechhandling: Handling of large-format sheets, panels and boards. The problem here is not the weight but the area: the material sags and the edge strikes. That is why it is gripped across the surface with suction beams, which must be sized for the worst surface that occurs. More on this
Tilting moment Also: Outreach · Load moment · Bending moment at the base: The product of load and reach, transferred into the floor at the base of a pillar-mounted unit. It determines design, pillar section and anchoring – and matters more than payload alone: 60 kg at 4 m is more demanding than 120 kg at 1.5 m. More on this
Torque arm Also: Reaction arm · Nutrunner suspension · Drehmomentstütze: An arm that absorbs the reaction forces of a nutrunner or drill instead of passing them into the operator’s wrist. It is the answer for all high-torque fastening and wherever a balancer cannot help by its very principle. More on this
Transfer technology Also: Transfer systems · Handover technology · Workpiece transfer: Technology for handing workpieces between stations, machines or conveyors. It is the point at which many production lines still work by hand – and therefore the most common place where a lifting aid becomes economical. More on this
Vacuum lifter Also: Vacuum gripper · Suction lifter · Suction beam · Vakuumhebegerät: A lifting device that holds the load by negative pressure against a tight surface. It is the fastest method for cartons, panels, sheet metal and glass, but reaches its limits on porous, damp or strongly curved surfaces. Under EN 13155 it has to hold the load on loss of energy or set it down under control. More on this
Workpiece handling Also: Part handling · Component handling · Werkstückhandhabung: Picking up, turning, positioning and transferring workpieces in production – typically at machines, fixtures and assembly stations. It places higher demands on accuracy and orientation than pure material handling, because the workpiece has to be brought into a defined position. More on this

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