Updates to: Machinery Movers Chicago Blog with Pictures

Updates to: Machinery Movers Chicago Blog with Pictures https://www.machinerymoverschicago.com/blog/ <H4>Back to <A HREF=/>Machinery Movers Chicago Home Page</A>.</H4> Here, you will find our fun filled videos and educational descriptions of various projects we undertook. I hope that you enjoy at least some of them. Also check out our location-specific pages at <A HREF=/elk-grove/elk-grove-machinery-movers.mpl>Elk Grove Machinery Movers</A> and <A HREF=/addison-machinery-movers.mpl>Addison Machinery Movers</A>. en-us Copyright Protected 2026-04-10T04:59+00:00 webmaster@algebra.com webmaster@algebra.com 1901-01-01T00:00+00:00 12 hourly Moving Mazak Laser https://www.machinerymoverschicago.com/blog/Moving-Mazak-Laser <CENTER> <A HREF=mazak.jpg><IMG SRC=mazak.jpg STYLE="max-width:70%; height:auto;"></A> </CENTER> <TABLE BORDER=0> <TR> <TD> We had to move a brand new Mazak OPN3015 laser into a sheet metal facility. This laser came in two pieces. One was huge 30ft by 9ft piece weighing 20,000 lbs, and another piece was smaller in weight and length. When it came in on a lowboy trailer, it was fully enclosed in metal crates (which in themselves were quite a piece of work). The manufacturer specified that lifting can only be done by crane and it could not be carried by forklift. The laser had to be lifted by a crane. </TD> <TD STYLE="max-width:70%;"> <A HREF=drawing.jpg><IMG SRC=drawing.jpg STYLE="max-width:100%; height:auto;" BORDER=1></A> </TD> </TR> </TABLE> <TABLE BORDER=0> <TR> <TD STYLE="max-width:70%;"> <A HREF=20150507_144700.jpg><IMG SRC=20150507_144700.jpg STYLE="max-width:100%; height:auto;" BORDER=1></A> </TD> <TD> The challenge was that the only dock door that was wide enough to receive this laser, was accessible by a narrow 12 foot asphalt road, surrounded by WATER (!) on both sides. You can see, on the picture to the left, that the crane had no room or ability to stick a laser through the door. Cranes lift from top, they do not put long items through door openings. So, we conferred with the customer (in advance) and decided to use a flatbed trailer as a platform to skate the laser into the building. There was, no other way to do so, as forklifts were not allowed by the spec. The laser would be craned onto the trailer, put on skates, immediately secured by tiedowns, and trucked 100 yards into this access road to the dock. Then it would be winched in on skates, into the door. </TD> </TR> </TABLE> <TABLE BORDER=0> <TR> <TD> The crane was provided by <A HREF=http://imperialcrane.com/>Imperial Crane</A>. It was a <A HREF=http://www.terex.com/cranes/en/idc03/groups/webcontent/@web/@cra/documents/web_content/ucm02_047864.pdf>Terex T340-1</A>. First, the crates were opened up, and then the tops of the crates were lifted off and put away. After that, the pieces were lifted off the low boy trailer. The smaller piece was set aside. The larger piece was put on the back of the flatbed trailer, on skates, and secured immediately. The trailer proceeded to the dock, where the rear of the laser was put on skates on the concrete floor of the customer's facility. </TD> <TD STYLE="max-width:70%;" WIDTH=40%> <A HREF=Imperial-Crane.jpg><IMG SRC=Imperial-Crane.jpg STYLE="max-width:100%; height:auto;" BORDER=1></A> </TD> </TR> </TABLE> <TABLE BORDER=0> <TR> <TD STYLE="max-width:50%;"> <A HREF=20150507_145224.jpg><IMG SRC=20150507_145224.jpg STYLE="max-width:100%; height:auto;" BORDER=1></A> </TD> <TD> We gently pulled the laser off the rear of the flatbed, on skates, all the way inside the factory. While the skates allowed for pretty straight movement, we had to re-secure it multiple times so that nothing would happen. After all, we would hate to see it tumbling down into the nearby pond!!! The trickiest moment was watching rear ckates come off the trailer and down to the factory floor, about 2 inches lower than the trailer. </TD> </TR> </TABLE> <TABLE BORDER=0> <TR> <TD> Immediately we were faced with a challenge, which is that the unloading spot was surrounded by 20 foot high pallet racks, and the laser had to be turned right there. That left us with barely any room to maneuver, but we could turn it by moving the skates to allow for gradual turning. This is a pain in the neck, but necessary as no skidding is allowed when skating such important stuff. This is not <A HREF=/chicago-machinery-removal.mpl>scrap metal removal</A>, this is a very expensive new machine. It was at this point when I brought donuts for the guys. </TD> <TD STYLE="max-width:50%;" width=50%> <A HREF=20150507_155327.jpg><IMG SRC=20150507_155327.jpg STYLE="max-width:100%; height:auto;" BORDER=1></A> </TD> </TR> </TABLE> Moving a 30000 lbs Bliss 110 ton Press https://www.machinerymoverschicago.com/blog/Moving-a-30000-lbs-Bliss-110-ton-Press ./Moving-a-30000-lbs-Bliss-110-ton-Press Opening Diebold Safe without Combination https://www.machinerymoverschicago.com/blog/Opening-Diebold-Safe-without-Combination A company paid me a good amount of money to remove three safes, two of which were locked closed without combination. This page describes my attempt to open one of them. I want to open it for fun and in hopes of finding something valuable. The company already made a lame attempt to open it by cutting hinges (!) I decided to make an opening on the side near the lock. I used an angle grinder to open up the outer skin, then broke the gypsum material, then cut through the inner skin and another inner shell. A view of the lock opened up. By now I have removed two screws (out of four) that hold the back lock cover. Had to go home. Our Hydraulic Setup https://www.machinerymoverschicago.com/blog/Our-Hydraulic-Setup This is our hydraulic setup. The star here is a high pressure pneumatic hydraulic pump that I bought at an auction. This is a 10,000 PSI pump (if not more). In addition, the pump has TWO high pressure lines attached. The pump is clearly of Industrial quality in every possible way, probably a few decades old but not worse for the wear. We have a variety of cylinders, from small 25 ton Enerpacs to 150 ton large cylinder and everything in the middle, some longer and some shorter. This way, we can lift stuff that our forklifts cannot lift. Everything is connected with high flow Enerpac quick disconnect fittings. Oversize Load Rigging Elk Grove Village https://www.machinerymoverschicago.com/blog/Oversize-Load-Rigging-Elk-Grove-Village We have the capability to rig, transport and place OVERSIZE LOADS and this is one such example. One of our forklifts (<A HREF=/blog/60-80k-Rigger-Lift/>60-80,000 lbs capacity forklift</A>) is itself an oversize (overweight) object. Anyhow, this is an example of <A HREF=/elk-grove/elk-grove-machinery-movers.mpl>Elk Grove rigging</A> that I keep on talking about. Two wood cutting machines were moved as one load, but the catch is that the load was 12' and thus oversize. The machines were very light, so no overweight issues, but they were HUGE. We obtained both the Illinois state permits, as well as DuPage county permits. We generally have an ability to get such permits on a short notice. We run 100% legal, with permits, flashers, flags and so on. Password Spam https://www.machinerymoverschicago.com/blog/Password-Spam Today, I received this amusing spam. This was also reported <A HREF=http://gmrgames.com/blog/2018/07/11/a-small-psa/ REL=nofollow>here</A> and <A HREF=https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/adult-site-blackmail-spammers-made-over-50k-in-one-week/ REL=NOFOLLOW>here</A>. Needless to say, this quite clever spam got some very important details wrong. (such as I never use a webcam to begin with, and just about anything else). I also think that this would not in any case be worth $7000! <PRE> From: Tommie Vize <awtessybs@outlook.com> To: "MYUSERID@chudov.com" <MYUSERID@chudov.com> Subject: MYUSERID - oldpassword Thread-Topic: MYUSERID - oldpassword </PRE> I know OLDPASSWORD is your pass. Lets get straight to point. Absolutely no one has compensated me to check about you. You do not know me and you are +probably wondering why you are getting this mail? In fact, I installed a malware on the xxx streaming (sex sites) website and you know what, you visited this web site to have fun (you know what I +mean). While you were viewing video clips, your browser started out operating as a Remote Desktop having a keylogger which provided me access to +your screen as well as web camera. Immediately after that, my software gathered all of your contacts from your Messenger, Facebook, and +e-mailaccount. After that I made a double-screen video. 1st part shows the video you were viewing (you've got a good taste : )), and 2nd part +shows the view of your webcam, and its you. You do have two possibilities. We will study each one of these possibilities in details: Very first choice is to just ignore this email message. Then, I will send out your video clip to all your your contacts and also imagine regarding +the embarrassment you will see. And as a consequence in case you are in a romance, just how it can affect? Number 2 choice will be to pay me $7000. Let us refer to it as a donation. Subsequently, I will quickly delete your video footage. You can keep +going on your way of life like this never occurred and you never will hear back again from me. You'll make the payment by Bitcoin (if you don't know this, search "how to buy bitcoin" in Google). BTC Address: REDACTED In case you are planning on going to the law enforcement officials, surely, this email can not be traced back to me. I have dealt with my moves. I +am not attempting to demand a huge amount, I just like to be rewarded. I've a specific pixel within this e mail, and right now I know that you +have read this message. You have one day in order to make the payment. If I don't receive the BitCoins, I will, no doubt send your video to all +of your contacts including members of your family, colleagues, etc. Nonetheless, if I receive the payment, I will erase the recording +immediately. It is a non-negotiable offer thus please don't waste my personal time and yours by responding to this email message. If you want +evidence, reply Yup! and I definitely will send your video to your 15 friends. Plasma Table https://www.machinerymoverschicago.com/blog/Plasma-Table Here we had to go to Chicago to unload a plasma table. The weird thing about this plasma table is that unloading instructions called for a "5,000 lbs forklift with 8 foot forks". This is slightly ridiculous and 8 foot forks almost do not exist for 5,000 lbs forklifts (class II forks). The plasma table itself was only 2,000 lbs or so. But it was long and inside a box truck, as you can see. Not to disappoint our customer, I modified my fork extensions so that they can be put on forks half way. I cut off the "ears" and welded then again, so that they hold the fork extensions to the bottom of the forks. The work itself took exactly one hour, but the welding took another 1.5 hours. There was little room, unloading under Chicago L-track, and so I had to take my pickup truck and a small trailer and my smallest forklift. Punch Press https://www.machinerymoverschicago.com/blog/Punch-Press Move a punch press and brake from Melrose Park to Elk Grove Village. Rigging Machinery with Cranes and Truck https://www.machinerymoverschicago.com/blog/Rigging-Machinery-with-Cranes-and-Truck In this plant, we had to move a bunch of machinery by loading it on a truck, then trucking it to a different building right on premises, and then unloading on another place. Rigging with Crane and Forklift https://www.machinerymoverschicago.com/blog/Rigging-with-Crane-and-Forklift Here's an interesting situation, due to a multitude of factors we needed to rig a machine, too heavy to be carried by the forklift, using this forklift. There was a 20 ton crane in the building but no good craning points on the machine to pick it up by crane. So, we picked the machine with BOTH crane and forklift. Cane on one side, forklift on another. Your humble servant operated the crane to "follow" the forklift, as the load was positioned. How to make a winning Robocross Robot / 1st Place in Illinois Science Olympiad https://www.machinerymoverschicago.com/blog/Robocross This is a robot that my son and I made for the State <A HREF=http://soinc.org/robo-cross_b>robocross competition</A>. It won 1st place in Illinois level competition in April 2015. It competed with over a dozen of Vex Robotics "easy to assemble" kits and won over them all. <iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gFMFtAKI0WU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen ></iframe> Since the state competition is so important and there is a chance for him to become semi-famous if he wins it, we decided to make another robot. Anyway, if you look at the controller, you see that there is a rechargeable battery attached on the bottom, and a black heatsink attached to the top. There is a hole in the plastic box where the heatsink attaches, and in that hole, there is three positive voltage regulators. I got the heatsink from a old power supply that I got from <A HREF=/chicago-machinery-removal.mpl>obsolete equipment removed in Chicago</A>. One for 10v to drive the lifting arm, and two 5v regulators to drive tracks. The reason for using different voltages is that 10v is too much for the tracks, the robot becomes not controllable. The robot itself is intentionally made to work like a skid steer loader like <A HREF=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JgeE6tg25s>Bobcat T300</A>. (I own a S300 myself). The competition itself allows only 3 minutes driving time.However, he will spend hours preparing for the competition, and so, the robot needs to be heavy duty enough not to fall apart or burn out during practice. The bucket is just like a bobcat bucket. I sharpened it on my Boyar Schultz 6-12 surface grinder to give it a super sharp, super straight edge. The regulators are KA7810 3-Terminal 1A 10V Positive Voltage Regulator, and two 1.5A 5V L7805CV Postive Voltage Regulators. The good news is that, as they run, even after a while, the heatsink is only barely warm. I had an undersized heatsink (a small copper bar inside) before and it would get very hot. But with this aluminum heatsink, everything is nice and cool. Overall, a big part of why he won is not just that the robot was good, but also that he spent many hours practicing. <H4>Techniques used</H4> <UL> <LI>TIG Welding</LI> <LI>Positive voltage regulator chips</LI> <LI>Surface grinder to sharpen the bucket edge on one side</LI> <LI>Ethernet cable to carry the electrical signal</LI> </UL> I am thinking about lecturing him about some "life lessons", like if you work hard at some good idea for a while, you can kick everyone's ass, or something along these lines. Something that certainly was true in my own business. Round Blacksmith Anvil Table https://www.machinerymoverschicago.com/blog/Round-Blacksmith-Anvil-Table This is a round blacksmith anvil table. Made from a huge 3 inch thick steel plate and legs made of structural tubing, not water pipe. Weight is 356 lbs. 30 inches height, 22 inch diameter, 3 inch thick top plate. Scrapping Injection Molder https://www.machinerymoverschicago.com/blog/Scrapping-Injection-Molder ./Scrapping-Injection-Molder Sewage Pump Controller https://www.machinerymoverschicago.com/blog/Sewage-Pump-Controller My building has its sewage flow to a well. In the well, there is an ejection pump lifting the sewage into the next well. The next well has another ejection pump, that lifts sewage again and pumps it into the city system. Both of these pumps are 10 amp and they are on the same circuit breaker, that is located in a building that I do not own. (I know that it is dumb, but it is what it is). Sometimes this breaker blows when it rains heavily and both pumps operate at the same time. This is a huge hassle. To fix this situation, I made a controller that I would place inthe upstream well. It would ensure that only one sewage pump runs at any given time. It gives priority to the ownstream pump. When the downstream pump runs, the upstream pump is disabled. The controller has a power relay, (which I found in <A HREF=http://www.componentexchangeillinois.com/Aurora/System-components/Lincoln-misc-lot-of-control-boards-sockets-etc.php>this lot</A>), as well as a current sensor relay, which senses current going to the downstream pump. It also has lights that illustrate what the controller is doing. It is somewhat watertight. It also has a 2 watt <A HREF=http://www.tristatemachinerydismantlers.com/WISCONSIN/Motors-and-tools/100-vishay-dale-silicone-wirewound-resistors-RS2B-200.jsp>resistor heater</A> inside to drive off any stray humidity. One motor is controlled by a power relay, whose coil input is controlled by a solid state relay, which is controlled by the current sensor relay. Steam Hammer Demolition https://www.machinerymoverschicago.com/blog/Steam-Hammer-Demolition This is a cool project to demolish two Chambersburg Steam Hammers at a leading Chicago forge. The above ground hammers, while looking intimidating, are easy to remove. The stuff below ground and the horizontal plates that hold everything together, are the most challenging to remove. We had to dig, dig dig and also use my <A HREF=../Our-Hydraulic-Setup/>Hydraulic Pump and Jack setup</A> in order to pull that stuff out of the ground. The hammers were in place since 1940 and their anvils are completely encrusted in mill scale that turned into rust and expanded. Taking Down 5 Ton Bridge Crane https://www.machinerymoverschicago.com/blog/Taking-Down-5-Ton-Bridge-Crane These pictures show how we took down a 5 ton bridge crane. This is a Whiting trambeam "double girder" bridge crane. I took down both the crane,as well the rails. The crane was 36' span and about 10' wide. To take it down, we first took down its hoisting unit. Fortunately we had a forklift that could reach that high, as the hoisting unit was underslung. However, after the hoist was removed, everything else was beyond the forklift's reach and unsafe to take down with forklifts. To take down the bridge, I suspended it from the ceiling using two chain hoists and two beam clamps that I had. I choked it in chains so that it would not slide. I also put 1/2" bolts through the chain, near the hook, so that it would not slide in the hooks, leading to overturning of everything. I could let it down about 10 feet on both sides. After that, I could take down one side with a forklift, then another side. Overall, taking it down was a pain for the following reasons: <UL> <LI>It was high in the air. I was fortunate in that I had a good scissor lift, but still, it added to the overall stress level. </LI> <LI>It had a lot of brackets that needed to be removed</LI> <LI>It was full of old grease</LI> <LI>Many bolts were painted over</LI> </UL> Taking Down Dust Collector https://www.machinerymoverschicago.com/blog/Taking-Down-Dust-Collector Today we took down a large dust collector mounted outside of a respectable company. It was somewhat difficult due to lack of room around it. But everything worked out ok. Taking Down Dust Collector 1 https://www.machinerymoverschicago.com/blog/Taking-Down-Dust-Collector-1 Taking down a huge dust collector Taking Down Overhead Conveyor System https://www.machinerymoverschicago.com/blog/Taking-Down-Overhead-Conveyor-System This video shows how <A HREF=/>Chicago Machinery Movers</A> took down an overhead conveyor without spending days working at 12-20ft height unbolting every single bolt. We unbolted the vertical supports, and disconnected the conveyor at where it was making a turn into that long straight line. The rest was taken down similarly. A lot easier and safer to torch down material that is laying on the floor. This is an economical and safe way to <A HREF=/chicago-machinery-removal.mpl>take down old equipment</A>, Chicago style. <object width="420" height="315"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/amo7BMruvz8?hl=en_US&version=3"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/amo7BMruvz8?hl=en_US&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object> This was a scrap job at a building to be demolished, not customer material. Trucking https://www.machinerymoverschicago.com/blog/Trucking ./Trucking US Flag on Crane https://www.machinerymoverschicago.com/blog/US-Flag-on-Crane I put up this flag on my crane for two reasons. One is that it is cool and patriotic. Second, is that it will tell me which way the wind is blowing. The flag is suspended on a steel rod, and I welded a weight on the bottom to keep the flag straight. I installed a flag light on this one so that it can be illuminated at night. It sits on a 1/2" bolt, to which I welded a link on the bottom and one to the nut on top. Unloading and Installing Amada CNC Punch Press https://www.machinerymoverschicago.com/blog/Unloading-and-Installing-Amada-CNC-Punch-Press We had to unload, bring in and set up in place an Amada punch press. It weighs 28,000 lbs. The manufacturer specified that it is to be unloaded with a crane only, with the angle between the slings no more than 60 degrees. So, no problem, we brought in a crane. Pulled it up, the trailer pulled out, set it down. Then we hooked it up to two forklifts with booms, the 30,000 lbs and the 18,000 lbs. Drove it up the ramps, turned the forklifts to pick it up sideways, and set it in the exact place that the customer wanted. We are <A HREF=/>Chicago Riggers</A> and our job is to make the customer happy. Here's a video of us removing their old punch press: <iframe width="500" height="300" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/m0fzvN-0_VU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Vertical Boring Mill https://www.machinerymoverschicago.com/blog/Vertical-Boring-Mill ./Vertical-Boring-Mill Wood Router https://www.machinerymoverschicago.com/blog/Wood-Router This was an easy job. A big wood router (13,000 lbs) came on a truck, we had to take it down in synchrony with the control cabinet. Then we lifted the router from another side, one person was rolling the cabinet in front, the other was driving the forklift, and this way the router ended up exactly where the company wanted it, the first time! The reason WHY it was easy, of course, is that because we brought adequate equipment, namely the 30,000 lbs forklift with long forks, that could pick up this heavy router any which way we wanted. The second reason why it was an easy job is that this 30,000 forklift is very easy to operate and transport despite its large capacity. It drives like a small forklift but can lift a lot. Yamaha 48v Golf Cart Battery Charger https://www.machinerymoverschicago.com/blog/Yamaha-48v-Golf-Cart-Battery-Charger I acquired this Yamaha golf cart with the seller honestly telling me that it does not charge. After verifying (with old batteries) that it was running on barely charged junk batteries, I proceeded to replace batteries with new ones. However, the charger was not charging it, it said CHARGING but would not put in a charge. After a while, the charger would say "ABNORMAL CYCLE". To verify that the charger does not, in fact, put a charge, I compared voltage across batteries with, and without, the charger turned on. The voltage was completely identical. Charger was model SCR481717. After some consternation and looking at cheap Chinese chargers on ebay and amazon, I decided to open up the charger. I saw right away what the problem was, that a wire melted off from the Hasco relay. I recrimped a new spade terminal on it and the charger is now charging. The relay is a "HAT903CSAC120 Hasco 120VAC Electromechanical Relay" and is available inexpensively. Even though this Hasco relay is functional, it would be prudent to replace it, as it has heat damage. The charger seems to be actually charging now. I will keep an eye on it to see if it completes the charging cycle properly.