New Winkle Product Combines Grapple and Magnet on the Fly

Winkle Industries, Alliance, Ohio, has added to its line of lifting magnets with a product that will allow operators to combine a grapple and magnet on the fly. The company is now offering a permanent tower that is placed directly on top of the magnet. Winkle’s DSG, ELSA, LSA, DSA and EDSA magnets, as well as most other makes and models of scrap magnets, can be accommodated with either a welded or pinned-on Winkle tower. The grapple-magnet combination has traditionally been used for applications that require handling punchings, turnings, and shred, as well as other less-dense similar materials. These types of scrap generally fall through the grapple tines so the magnet is used to hold them in place. This combination is also often used to sweep up metal from the ground when the scrap pile is too shallow for the grapple to effectively lift scrap without picking up dirt and other debris.

Standard scrap handling magnets come with a three-legged magnet chain and are not designed to be bolted to the head plate inside the grapple. Some operators utilize a magnet grapple combination for this type of application. However, this configuration does have some limitations. “The tines need to be fully opened to use the magnet portion of the grapple for sweeping or sorting and in this position,” said Mark Volansky, Winkle’s director of sales. “Working like this in tight quarters is not practical.”

This new product came as a result of Winkle’s listening to customers’ needs to increase their overall productivity and magnet utilization. “With the tines closed around the tower,” continued Volansky, “the tower suspends the magnet below the grapple, allowing the operator clear view of the magnet for placement and ease of operation.”

According to the manufacturer, customers believe the advantage now is that the tower can be grasped by the grapple tines while the operator is in the cab, instead of stopping to chain the magnet on to the grapple attachment or completely switching attachments. This means the operator has only to attach the electrical line for the generator. If a worker on the ground is available to do this, the operator does not even need to exit the cab, increasing on-the-job productivity across the board.