Before car lifts were invented, mechanics would
often have to deal with cramped and dangerous conditions while working on motor
vehicles. They would often use ramps or
jacks to lift vehicles and accidents were common. Pits offered a safer option for working on
vehicles, but very often these pits did not allow a mechanic to stand
comfortably while working on a vehicle.
It all changed thanks
to the invention of the car lift. This
article will examine the history of the car lift and some of the modern lifts
which are now available.
The Power of Hydraulics
Scientific developments in the field of hydraulics
were key to the invention of the car lift. In the 17th-Century, French
mathematician Blaise Pascal first described how a hydraulic jack might
function. Pascal developed Pascal’s
Principle — also known as the principle of transmission of
fluid-pressure. In laymen’s terms, it
means that within closed systems, the pressure exerted on an incompressible
fluid will result in equal pressure in all directions.
In 1795, a British
engineer named Joseph Bramah patented the hydraulic press, which put Pascal’s
principles to work. He was given a
patent for the device, which was an important technological breakthrough for
industrial machinery. Hydraulic presses
are often used for moulding, blanking, punching, deep drawing, forging,
clinching, and metal forming operations.
The next important
technological breakthrough occurred when Richard Dudgeon invented the hydraulic jack in
1851. He received a patent for the
device, named the “portable hydraulic press”.
It was a simple device that used “water or another fluid” in a reservoir
near the top of the jack. The jack was
often filled with whale oil and other unusual fluids including whisky!
Dudgeon’s hydraulic
jack had some design issues, but it was another important discovery that helped
power the industrial revolution. Richard Dudgeon
later went on to invent the steam carriage, cementing his position as one of
the most important inventors of the 19th-Century.
Hydraulic jacks became
a common sight in car garages and eventually reached the consumer market. Many garages continued to use pits for car
repairs, however, hydraulic jacks made it easy to safely lift a car for a quick
repair in any location.
The first hydraulic car
lift was patented in 1925 by Peter Lunati, US Patent B66F7/18 Lifting frames, e.g. for lifting vehicles; Platform lifts with platforms supported directly by jacks by one or more hydraulic or pneumatic jacks by a single central jack.
Mr Lunati went on to form the Rotary Lift company, which remains in business today with headquarters in Madison, Indiana.
By 1945, there were
many companies making hydraulic lifts for the motor vehicle industry. In the United States, nine lift manufacturers
formed the Automotive Lift Institute (ALI).
ALI was created to further improving the quality of automotive lifts and
ensure the industry remained profitable. Any Lift sold in the EU must conform
to the latest European Harmonised Standards and will have a CE Certificate to
ensure compliance.
Since the invention of
the first hydraulic car lift, may other lifts have been patented including the
scissors type hydraulic car lift in 1989, a 4-post hydraulic platform vehicle
lift for multiple cars in 2000, and an above-the-floor hydraulic lift in 1982.
Hydraulic lifts have
been installed by many garages because they are easy to install and safer to
use compared to a pit, ramps or jacks.
They are much cheaper than digging out a pit for vehicles to drive
over.
Today, hydraulic car
lifts are available in the consumer market and are popular with car
enthusiasts. They allow car owners to
safely and comfortably work on their car in the comfort of their own home.
Car lifts are also
useful for providing additional vehicle storage in your home. Many home owners add platform vehicle lifts
to their garages so they can store two cars in a one car garage. These Platform car lifts can also be
installed into ground excavation to provide even more space for vehicle
storage.
Types of Car Lifts
There are now a wide
variety of car lifts available to suit any operating environment. Most modern lifts use an electric motor to
raise a lift directly through the use of hydraulic rams, or on cables driven by
the ram. Screw type drives to lift the vehicle are available and provide very
accurate control of lift height.
2-Post Surface
Mounted Car Lifts
The most popular type of car lift today, it is
comprised of two lift arms which are typically bolted to the floor. A cross-beam usually joins the posts. The lift arms are synchronised electronically
or mechanically to raise at the same speed, they must be installed on an
extremely secure concrete base
Multi-Post Runway
Car Lifts
Usually a 4-post surface-mounted lift. Runway lifts have wide ramps that the vehicle
drives on before being lifted. They are
useful for accommodating a wide array of vehicle types, but require more space.
Scissor Car Lifts
Scissor lifts are available as both surface-mounted
and in-ground. Many scissor lifts are
mid-rise lifts that don’t reach the same height as an in-ground post lift.
Low or Mid-rise
Frame Engaging Car Lifts
Low and Mid-rise car
lifts are often surface-mounted and can use external hydraulic systems to
function. While they do not obtain the
same height as a post lift, they are still very useful for getting to the
bottom of vehicles and ideal for working on a car while seated. Many low-rise lifts are mobile and useful
because they can be moved around a garage.
Wheel Engaging
Mobile Units
These lifts feature
moveable posts that are placed under the vehicle’s wheels. They are very useful for situations where you
are dealing with a wide range of vehicles which are different sizes.
Strongman Tools are Car Lift experts, who have a vast amount of experience installing car lifts
in any operating environment — from residential car lifts through to
Professional Garage & Workshop installations.
Some of the car lifts
available from Strongman include:
4-Post
Lifts
• Mobile Scissor & Platform Scissor Lifts
• Parking Lifts
• Mid-Rise Lifts
