A 180 degree plate tilter turns a steel plate completely over and sets it back down flat, so the face that was underneath comes up ready for the second side to be inspected, welded, ground or painted, with no crane flip and nobody guiding a swinging plate.
The job it replaces
Turning a heavy plate with a crane is the most awkward lift in a fabrication shop. The plate has to be lifted on one edge, rotated through the vertical while the slings shift, and lowered on the other face, and at the moment it passes vertical the whole load is balanced on its edge. Every shop that does it has a story about a plate that got away. A 180 degree plate tilter takes the plate at floor level, carries it through the arc on a cradle and sets it down on the other face, in under a minute, with the operator at a pendant.
Mechanical, not hydraulic
The drive is a geared motor working through a crank-rocker linkage or gear train, so the plate is carried positively through the whole arc and cannot run away at the top. There is no power pack, no hoses and no oil near a surface that is about to be welded or painted, which matters in a shop where a hydraulic weep on a plate means a rework. Our coil tilters are usually hydraulic because they stop at 90 degrees under load; a plate tilter goes over the top, where a positive mechanical drive is the safer choice.
Sizing and mounting
Capacity is rated to the shop's heaviest plate, up to 70 ton, and the cradle is built to the plate length, width and thickness range rather than to a standard size, since a short thick plate and a long thin one load the linkage differently. Mounting is on the floor, in a pit so the plate is received at floor level, or in-line between a plate leveler and a welding station. Control is by pendant, panel or the line's automation. Send us your plate range and bay layout for a sizing drawing.
Where it is used
Second-face welding of built-up girders, box columns and pressure vessel shells; grinding and NDT of both faces; painting lines; and, where the workpiece is a cast slab, slab inspection and conditioning. The plate leveler guide covers the machine that usually sits upstream of it.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a plate tilter and a plate upender?
None in practice. Plate tilter, plate upender, plate turnover device and slab tilting machine all describe the same machine; upender is the term more common in plate mills, tilter in fabrication shops.
How fast does a plate tilter turn a plate?
Typically under a minute for the full 180 degree cycle, geared to the plate weight and the duty. Heavier plates are turned more slowly.
Does it need a pit?
Not necessarily. A floor-mounted tilter receives the plate at cradle height from the crane; a pit-mounted one receives it at floor level from a conveyor or transfer car, which suits an in-line installation.
Export Availability
An exported plate tilter travels as a bolted assembly with the geared motor and linkage fitted, so site work is limited to grouting the base and connecting the supply. The mechanical drive suits export well: there is no hydraulic oil to drain for shipping and no power pack to match to a foreign supply, only a motor and a panel built to the destination's voltage.
Manufactured at Pragya's Pithampur (Indore) works and exported to steel mills worldwide — 22+ countries across 5 continents to date. Every export order ships with mill test certificates, ocean-freight packing, and full customs documentation, quoted FOB or CIF.
Interested in our industrial equipment?
Our export team, based in Indore, India, will recommend the right solution and quote FOB or CIF pricing for your shipment.
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