Somewhat OT-Panel Building Stand

[rta53]

I have been involved in panel design and building for nearly 18 years and have used various methods for supporting and/or rigging the panels while building. If it's a small panel, say less than 36" in height we generally use a homemade stand that sits on a bench and is slanted at about 45 degrees. This works fine for the most part but when we have a panel that is say 60" x 48" we usually lay it (both the enclosure and the back panel) across 2 small portable stands. This works great for laying out and mounting components obviously but is not the best solution for wiring. Tends to be hard on the back. A couple of our salesmen recently visited a plant where they have a large panel shop and they told me that the panel builders had stands that allowed you to mount the enclosure or back panel and then rotate the whole thing to put it in the most comfortable position for wiring. The stand evidently has pins that allow you to lock it in place when you rotate it. The stands were also on wheels so they are portable. Just wonder what you guys use and if you have any suggestions. Pictures would be fine too.

 

[Steve Bailey]

Your post got me thinking. I wonder if an old-fashioned drafting board could be adapted for this application. In the days when engineering drawings were made by scraping graphite onto paper, every engineering department had rows of workstations that consisted of a drawing board that could be raised/lowered and tilted so that the draftsman could position the drawing to maximixe his own comfort. Boards were typicaly around six feet wide by four feet high.

You would need some method of clamping the work to the board and you might need to increase the counterweight since an electrical panel will typically weigh more than a layout drawing. There must be thousands of those beasts gathering dust in the basements of machinery builders and engineering businesses.

 

[Norml]

Our panel builder mounts all of the components and does most of the wiring on the sub-panel before it is mounted in the enclosure. The sub-panel is placed on a roll-around cart. After wiring, we use 4 handles near the sub-panel corners and lower it into the enclosure. After that, the wiring to the door-mounted components can be installed without much diffuculty and back ache.

 

[rsdoran]

In the last shop I had to build panels I just framed a gantry system, guess thats what you call it. 2 H beams running length of room, each one had an H beam running perpendicular with an electric hoist. If I needed too I could lock the Hoist beams together or allow them to move indivividually.

This way I could remove or replace panels as I want plus position as I needed. I used straps, not chains, and had to create a couple of options.

I would set them on heavy duty sawhorses to layout the panel then let it hang to do the wiring, could raise and lower as needed.

I have the plans to build a 12' x 12' table that would do all the drilling and tapping but have not gotten to build it yet.

 

[rta53]

Our panel builder mounts all of the components and does most of the wiring on the sub-panel before it is mounted in the enclosure. The sub-panel is placed on a roll-around cart. After wiring, we use 4 handles near the sub-panel corners and lower it into the enclosure. After that, the wiring to the door-mounted components can be installed without much diffuculty and back ache.

Well this is somewhat similiar to what we do now. However the main issue is that wiring the back panel with it lying flat does cause back problems. It's sort of like working under the hood of a car. Our previous panel builder was semi-retired and only worked part-time. He was in his 70s and was an excellent panel builder but having to bend over panels that were lying flat caused him a lot of problems with his back. He finally had to quit because of the back pain. I am 54 and it bothers my back to spend hours wiring in this way. The idea is to come up with a way that allows the panel builder to stand straight or nearly straight most of the time or even be able to sit some.

 

[milldrone]

rta53,

Perhaps an engine rebuilding stand (or two face to face) can be modified to suit your needs. They rotate and lock into position and are capable of holding considerable weight. The price might be right also.

 

[allscott]

I was thinking the same thing, maybe try to weld a custom easel on a transmission jack?

 

[kittydog42]

I have two panel building stands that I welded together years ago. They are about 4 feet tall each, and feature two strut rails hinged at the bottom. The strut rails can either be flat, like a table (for laying the components out), or angled up (for wiring). The strut rails are held up with chains that can adjust the angle. There are also two wings on each table and one shelf below for storage. There is also a tray for tools in the front, as well as two uprights that are spanned by another pipe, which can hold spools of wire above the panel. There are clips on the uprights for holding wiring diagrams. The largest backpanel that it can accomodate is around 36" x 36", and the largest enclosure that it can support is around 30" x 30". For larger enclosures, the backpanel is transferred after wiring to some wall mounted strut for door wiring and testing. If the testing involves 3-phase input, the whole assembly has to be moved to another area where we have 208, 240, 480, and 575 power from a transformer.

 

[kolyur]

Our maintenance department is fortunate to have a few electric forklifts. When building large panels we usually strap the cabinet to the forks, then you can sit in your favorite chair and adjust the position of the cabinet to a comfortable working height for wiring. Of course the components have to be mounted to the panel first.

 

[OkiePC]

rta53,

Perhaps an engine rebuilding stand (or two face to face) can be modified to suit your needs. They rotate and lock into position and are capable of holding considerable weight. The price might be right also.

ZACTLY...

Another vote for engine stands...no sliding it around on a table. Engine stands sound ideal with minor modification...

Then, repositioning it is a safe, gentle, one-man job. Stand it up and roll it away when you need to...

You can lock it at a variety of angles, roll it around on casters, and maybe only have to increase the height. Or, for a tall panel, you might have to get used to wiring sideways .

And make some clamps to adapt the 4 bolt pattern to a panel end securely.

Okie

 

[milldrone]

Here is a pic of what I had in mind.

There are some details for this at this website.
http://www.ponypics.com/spitfire/rotisserie.html
Checkout what could be a sliding tube that connects the two engine stands together. Another plus is having the unit on wheels so you can move it arround. (Because sales just accepted a rush jub that has to be done before the one your currently working on, aaaaaargh!). Just be sure to replace the ridgid wheels with all casters.