Traditionally, industrial lifts have been used in manufacturing and production environments to lower and raise work things, people and materials. The scissor lift, also called a table lift, is an industrial lift that has been modified for wholesale and retail environments.
Most customers who have been shopping in a store late at night have almost certainly seen a scissor lift, even if they do not know they have. Essentially, the scissor lift is a platform with wheels which acts like a forklift. In a non-industrial kind of environment, the scissor lift is ideal for completing tasks which require the speed or mobility and transporting of people and supplies above ground level.
The scissor lift is a unique machinery in that it does not utilize a straight support in order to hoist workers into the air. Instead, the scissor lift platform rises when the folding and linked supports underneath it draw together, making the machinery stretch upward. Once the equipment is extended, the scissor lift reaches around from 21 to 62 feet or 6.4 to 18.8 meters above ground. This depends on the size of the unit and the purpose.
The rough terrain scissor lifts could either be powered by hydraulics or by an electric motor, however, it can be a bumpy ride for the worker inside the lift going to the top. The scissor lift design keeps it from traveling with a constant velocity, rather than traveling faster during the middle of its journey or traveling slower with more extension.
An extremely popular class of scissor lift is the RT or Rough Terrain class. Standard features of the RT units include increased power due to the IC or internal combustion engine. The variations come in petrol, gas, combinations or diesel. This is needed to deal with the increased weights and steeper grades of 18 to 22 degrees which are usually associated with this particular class of scissor lift.