EN
Magnetic Lifter
Periodic inspection of electric and permanent lifting magnets: magnet unit, legs-chain, latch-pin, holding force and insulation checks. Six-monthly by rule.
Magnetic lifter periodic inspection is the examination and testing, by authorised engineers every six months, of electric or hand-lever (permanent) lifting magnets that grip flat steel loads with a magnetic field. The magnet unit, carrying legs and chains, latch-pin gear, holding force and electrical insulation are assessed. The Work Equipment Regulation shortens the inspection period of magnetic lifters among lifting accessories, grading their dropped-load risk.
Magnetic Lifter Types
- Electric lifting magnet: Wound electromagnet; evaluated with supply cable, charge-discharge circuit, emergency battery (UPS) and thermal protection.
- Hand-lever permanent magnets: Permanent magnet circuit, lever mechanism and surface poles; the hold-at-zero-energy principle.
- Electro-permanent magnets: Permanent field established by pulse current; control panel with sensing safety chain.
Common items on all types: suspension ring-pin, body corrosion and working surface flatness.
Periodic Inspection Items
- Holding force test: Pull-separation trial on a reference plate at nominal current (or levered position); verification of the manufacturer holding factor and archiving results as trends.
- Surface and body: Scratches-crushing on pole face, thickness of paint-corrosion layer (a critical surface condition: thick paint lowers holding); body cracks and deformation.
- Mechanical connection: Suspension ring, pin and latch clearance; rupture-stretch signs on legs and chains; double-safety condition of locks.
- Lever mechanism (permanent): Open-close force, position indicator and no self-discharge under vibration.
- Electrical: Winding insulation resistance and temperature class, supply cable and connector damage, emergency battery function test, panel thermal protection, earthing continuity.
- Plate and capacity: Legibility of the capacity plate, working temperature and maximum plate thickness warnings; presence of the manual.
Legislation and Standards
Magnetic lifters are explicitly listed among lifting accessories with six-monthly periodic examination under Law No. 6331 and the Work Equipment Regulation. Technical references: manufacturer standards for lifting magnets, 2006/42/EC Machinery Directive and TS EN 60204-1 for electrical equipment, and the relevant TS EN accessory series for chains-ropes-connections. The reason for the short period is that the load is carried by a magnetic field rather than a mechanical catch, and holding silently degrades with surface, chemical and temperature change.
Risks and Operator Recommendations
The critical scenario is that thick paint, rust, burrs or thin plate disturb the contact face and magnetic holding drops unexpectedly. Therefore sheet thickness, surface preparation and paint must be kept within plate limits. For electric magnets that cannot hold through power loss, an emergency supply must be treated as mandatory; cable and connector are inspected each shift against breakage. Impact on the magnet under load (struck against ground) permanently damages the winding or permanent magnets; impacted units go to service. Travelling over personnel with a loaded lifter is absolutely banned; area restriction and signalling chain (horn/light) must be installed. On permalines, double-action lever and lock indicator are priority control items.
Outcome
At the semi-annual examination a signed report with holding test and all component findings is issued. Magnetic lifter inspections belong to our Lifting and Handling Machines group. For batch accessory audits, review the Sling and Chain Hoist pages, or contact us for your programme.
FAQ on Magnetic Lifter
A magnetic lifter (electromagnet, permanent magnet or battery supported lifting magnet) lifts steel plates-pipes-parts and scrap by holding with a magnetic field. Its threat comes not from load section but from weakening magnetic bond: surface roughness-paint-dirt, thick-thin plate difference, temperature magnet drop (Curie curve), battery-power-off protection (permanent type emergency) or control circuit fault silently melts the holding force — the load falls. Function verification is therefore mandatory.
Under the Work Equipment Regulation accessory control cannot exceed one year; lifting magnets commonly run a holding-force function trial at six-month intervals per practice and the manufacturer manual, with latch-safety (on-off lock) and surface wear control added on permanent types. Heavy shift, hot surface and thick-painted part use shorten the period. Daily visual (surface cleanliness, latch, cable) is the operator duty.
Holding force trial: lift-hold-travel-lower sequence on calibrated reference load (test plate-bar) with holding margin check (corrected for nominal thickness-surface-temperature); magnetic face flatness-wear-roughness measurement and pole-foot contact control; electrical side: supply-cable-reel-slip ring insulation-earth (electro type), power-off permanent magnet lock and alarm button verification (battery backup), supercapacitor-battery charge test; capacity plate WLL readability, temperature label limit and manual warnings.
Holding force below the WLL reference (slip in the trial), notch-warp-roughness beyond limit on the magnetic face (air gap-leak flux), cut-broken cable (electro), failed fall protection (permanent) or dead battery backup, latch gap-residual hold-alarm not working, missing WLL-capacity schema: red tag with a demagnetise-magnet-loss destroy decision. Operator instruction: clear the lifting zone-safety distance, no travel over people, hot part (Curie) limit compliance; records stay in the OHS file.