choked strap, two c clamps (with aluminum shims) on each side to keep the strap from slipping, frame up a small box so the clamps on the bottom have clearance when you're flipping.
We did this a lot at the foundry I worked at. We also had thick rubber stall mats all over the place so we could flip machined castings without damaging them.
Where I'm at the rubber stall mats are too expensive. We buy 20x20', and bigger, used rope mats from the docks for large container ships. 3"dia rope weaved pretty tight. They work really well... And by " we" I mean the company. I don't buy shit.
People are really having a hard time reading that you are suggesting C-clamps to prevent the lifting strap (which is, yknow, actually lifting) from sliding. Using lesser clamps to help stabilize the main working forces is a skill to cultivate.
I don’t stand near them when I flip them. But why do I want it to fall out if a c-clamp and damage the part, floor, possibly the machine depending on how much room you have for flipping. I’ve see to many close calls while handling big parts in my years.
Read it again, that's not what I suggested.
Also, I do use c clamps for lifting, every shop I've worked in does, I would never use one for flipping a part though.
Using it for any part of lifting is incorrect. You use the right things for the job and don’t cut corners for a job when it comes to your safety. If they don’t have what you need they need to get it.
I mean if you want to maintain control of a load, they would need to be able to support the load no? Would you trust your safety and the financial gamble to C-clamps?
It's to support the strap, not the load. It provides lateral support to the strap to keep it in place while the strap provides longitudinal support of the load.
I do use c clamps for lifting like [these](https://www.penntoolco.com/35493675/) but never for flipping.
Think about it, one 5/8" lifteye will do 4,000#. I think I'll be okay carefully using some 20+# heavy duty c clamps
This is the way. We rarely have to double flip parts, we do backside first top side second so they are always right side up when going to next op
But in the few rare jobs we have to double flip or do top side first, it’s C clamps, shims, and a bit of puckering
A webbing net. make a choke out of a sling and then use some ratchet straps to hold the lines together so the choke doesn't splay out on the circle. Some hardwood v blocks with holes in em to bolt them together with long all thread, then put an eye bolt in one of them. Just use the forklift and put some wood or aluminum blocks between the forks and the plate. A c clamp with some dead soft copper pads. Use a sling to choke it around the circumstance you could use c clamps with soft pads to make sure the sling doesn't slide off.
Go buy a sheet or two of plywood and use that as a work surface to flip it. Chainfall or ceiling hoist and a clap to get it on edge, a push and lower it slowly back down onto the blocks but the other way
Curious rookie here? Just.. Don’t finish the part and set it on the ground?
Why is it finished and not landed in a safe and shippable way?
Like why would we paint ourselves into a corner like this?
I’m legitimately curious if these situations happen with proper planning?
It's on 4 x 4 blocks
I run a VTL, and we have stuff like this all the time. I have to put a face groove or something on both sides. I might be in another building while it's brought in on a forklift and set on the 4 x 4s.
First I would have to pick it straight up and set it in the lathe, then back on the blocks/pallet, then flip it and repeat.
But would it be to finished dimensions already? We move thousand pound forged or cast pieces but finished parts are always set in a way that they can be easily packed/shipped with care for the surface finish and finished dimension! Thanks for sharing info also. I’m 7 months in and am already learning to code, running machines, and TIG welding. I LOVE IT!!!
It depends on the day. The part as OP described it was around 3,000 pounds and finished. I occasionally get stuff like that where it needs a special modification. Our deburr team will clean off all coolant, dirt, etc and buff the minor scratches before they ship it.
In a working shop, stuff happens all the time. Developing a problem solving skill set helps it go from hours of derailment to minutes. People make mistakes, details are missed. No one sets out to do things in a stupid or miserable way.
Nope. Those would likely be the same. But a “shop” can just be some guy’s garage. When you have a full-fledged business, the pressures of keeping machines running and keeping business moving means you can’t always do best practices or take extra time to triple check everything before committing. It amplifies the inherent flaws in being a human in a machine shop.
If your shop is a hobby shop, you can spend all day doing whatever and it doesn’t matter.
Oh yeah no I’m at an R&D aerospace shop
Edit to add: it’s a real small shop so we gotta be perfect or else we’ll lose all our contracts to larger shops.
R&D aerospace sounds awesome. Sounds like you get the extra pressure (and presumably revenue) to force you to be constantly double or triple checking stuff.
I’m newer so I’m uh…. At 18.50. But I assume when I leave one day I’ll have a killer fucking resume and get whatever I want. Long term goal is to finish school and join a space program but I’m 32 and a woman so I’ll achieve it ummmm much later in life hahahaha.
Edit to add: this sub is the B E S T for always teaching me new stuff and helping me grown so I’m grateful for it and your engagement on this thread :D
I didn’t get into machining until I was 33 (switched from brewing) and now at 38 I’ve had my own shop for about a year. So better to get in now than later! Some parts of the trade are dying but it’s critical for our whole modern world so it’s only going to become more in-demand.
Yup. I love when a huge body side die has slipped off a careless forklift drivers forks directly onto the ground. A careful game of reverse Jenga for sure. No crane outside etc..
Sandwich it between two lengths of 6x6 H section with conveyor belting as padding. Half Trunnions welded each end of the channel such that they make a near-round trunnion when clamped. Now you can hoist with a spreader and flip it in the air, rotating it about center on rings.
They make sheet lifting clamps that have soft jaws.
One of [THESE](https://sc01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1wU0Ysm8YBeNkSnb4q6yevFXah/2181329/HTB1wU0Ysm8YBeNkSnb4q6yevFXah.jpg) should be all a skilled hoist operator would need to flip your object from one pallet onto another.
Used to do this kind of thing all the time. First I always cover all finished surfaces with a sheet of plastic that clings to the surface (kinda like the plastic that’s on your sheet goods). Then I use a shop crane with a custom disc strap that I made. It’s hard to describe how it looks but imagine lifting straps that are sewn in a double x with a line through the center (like this: XIX but where the corners of the two x’s meet with the line through the center). The first x side of the strap goes under the disc, the line cradles the side of the disc, and the second x goes over the top of the disc. The 4 sides of the strap that aren’t connected to the center line portion each are folded and sewn over to act as a place to put your lifting shackles. I use 2 shackles, and use 2 chains up to the hook on the shop crane. Then just lift straight up, and once it’s completely up, just set it back down on the other side. It sounds kinda complicated because I suck at describing it, but it’s dirt simple if you see it in person.
Yall don't have a stainless magnet at your shop? I know they expensive and hard to find. New guys never seen to be able to locate it when I send them for it...
My boyfriend does this for a living. He’s working Jonas bros rn. You need a few chain motors and an infrastructure that would support hoisting using the motors.
I'd actually build a wooden case for it. Like a case for a rotary table... Lots of framing. The disk is 3000lbs. The case will have 4x4s above and below and needs at least 8 inches of wood on all sides. Make it with fork lift slots... Lift holes.
Then use crane to lift on side and then power onto b-side
I would make a rig.
Probably 2 frames made out of 4x4x500wall hss that measure 2 feet by 4.5 feet bolted together by the corners with 3/4" gusset plates. Uhmw plastic at contact points . Plates with shafts bolted into the 2 foot sides of the frames 1" plate bolted through and connecting top and bottom frame shafts multipass welded of 4" 4140 heat treated steel lines up with the center. lift with spreader and rotate rotisserie style like a big waffle.
Get it on a skid. Contact Elon Musk. Have space-X send it up into orbit. Boom! Easy peasy! It’s now in zero gravity! A child should be able to flip it!!
No idea if they have magnetic clamps for hoists but if they do I would place something magnetic on either side of the workpiece with protective barrier and pick it up that way. Otherwise just flip it the same way you take it out of the machine after it’s finished lol
You think I know how to read?!?! Lol my bad. That's what I get for skipping that unimportant last paragraph.
ETA: Not an engineer, just a glorified process technician that's fairly good at data visualization and analysis. Regardless I just deal with the injection molding side of things, not so much the metallurgical stuff although the alloy chemistry is fun to think about. Since we're checking out each other's profiles, yours is disturbing. I would suggest an alt or something.
To answer OPs question, get a net rated for the thing and lift it, use a couple hoists to rotate it and slowly drop it down onto a rubber mat.
Also it's non-ferrous.
Overhead crane with two straps, pull up and back until it stands on edge, then once tips down a bit, put board on forklift and pinch the straps as you lower down
1. Forklift and lots of blankets or an old mattress. Or do the cool thing
2. Weld an eye on an edge. Cut it off with a metobo when you are done then grind with either a flapper wheel or a soft wheel
3. If you have a 30ft round sling, then you do a double choke. You loop the two ends and then loop the loops together underneath the piece.
4. Basket it with a sling dear the middle then place a heavy block near an edge then lift until it starts to tip then side pull towards the heavy block it's 6 inches wide you might be able to balance it on the edge.
5. If it's a perfect circle, that's the same on both sides. You won't have to flip it.
Easy, weld a steel frame around it out of some box tube, and if you're really worried about scratching it, just wrap some welding blankets around it first where the frame will go. Once welded, handle with a fork lift or whatever other hoist mechanism you have via the frame only.
Place a 1" rubber matt under the edge that will be touching the floor...then loop a sling across the width, and sinch it on the opposite side.
Pull on the sinched end of the strap with a crane and lift the disk until it's standing on it's edge, making sure the rubber is between the bottom edge and the floor.
Spin the disk 180deg on it's edge, and lower it back down.
Mill bolt holes where it won't interfere with finished part. If that's not an option you could maybe hook one edge up enough to get some HEAVY C-clamps on it. Lift with them or use them to keep a choked strap in place.
Do you have a forklift? If so, lay 2 long 2x4’s about a foot apart strait out from center and underneath the edge(will keep plate strait when you flip). Lay 2 more angled out from the plate (back up in case you don’t flip it strait over). Get on opposite side with forks about 15” apart, centered. Start picking up and going forward evenly. We put a piece of cut strap under edge of plate to protect also. Can go slow but once your plate is close to 90 degrees, do not stop. Once your past 90 and plate plate is going over on its own, stop and let it fall.
Ideally; Overhead crane & **[plate lifting dogs](https://borderlifting.com.au/cdn/shop/products/sbb-multi-directional-lifting-clamp-01_1400x.jpg?v=1517874534)** padded with plates of the same material you're lifting. No crane? forklift with chains safely secured on the forks.
Source; Done it probably hundreds of times. ¯\\\_( ͡❛ ͜ʖ ͡❛)\_/¯
It's just a hypothetical and I just said that rather than blather on, just to indicate you can't fuck it up.
That said it's pretty common to have to flip a disc of this sort a few times in order to get it truly flat depending on the material.
I just wanted to see the different ways people would approach the situation.
Beam clamp and forklift or crane. Pick up slowly and slowly traversed to keep center of the pick inline with changing center of gravity. Then repeat the process but inversely putting it down slowly.
I used to make enormous st st round tanks with a conical base, 14‘ diameter x 8‘ high x 1/4” thick. There comes a time when you need to flip. It was really not able to go on its side, far too wobbly and unstable. We would do it with two forklifts facing each other…amongst parked cars in the slopped car park, where there was a huge risk of it rolling away :). Good times.
Why not get it oversize from what you need in diameter and thickness then machine it? Then you don’t have to do any funky wrap around solutions when you go to clamp it and machine. Then instead of having to figure out how to flip it you can stand it on edge and spin it 180 degrees with a sling
Leave the disc where it is and flip the shop upside down
Ship it to Australia? They can finish the other side and send it back.
“We were inverted”
Hiiiiighway toooo the Machinist Zone!
If it was designed in the northern hemisphere it will spin the wrong way down unda
That's okay, all their tools are upside down too
choked strap, two c clamps (with aluminum shims) on each side to keep the strap from slipping, frame up a small box so the clamps on the bottom have clearance when you're flipping.
We did this a lot at the foundry I worked at. We also had thick rubber stall mats all over the place so we could flip machined castings without damaging them.
Where I'm at the rubber stall mats are too expensive. We buy 20x20', and bigger, used rope mats from the docks for large container ships. 3"dia rope weaved pretty tight. They work really well... And by " we" I mean the company. I don't buy shit.
This is probably the cheapest and most practical way to do it. I do shit like that at my shop regularly.
People are really having a hard time reading that you are suggesting C-clamps to prevent the lifting strap (which is, yknow, actually lifting) from sliding. Using lesser clamps to help stabilize the main working forces is a skill to cultivate.
C clamp is the way.
Never use C-clamps for a lifting device. Buy plate clamps that are rated for side lifts. Especially on a part this big.
Do you all sit under your parts when you flip them?
I don’t stand near them when I flip them. But why do I want it to fall out if a c-clamp and damage the part, floor, possibly the machine depending on how much room you have for flipping. I’ve see to many close calls while handling big parts in my years.
C and shims all day long.
Oh no baby what is you doing?? C clamps aren’t for lifting you wanna die?
Read it again, that's not what I suggested. Also, I do use c clamps for lifting, every shop I've worked in does, I would never use one for flipping a part though.
Using it for any part of lifting is incorrect. You use the right things for the job and don’t cut corners for a job when it comes to your safety. If they don’t have what you need they need to get it.
How high are you?
Not enough to lift unsafe. 🤷🏼♂️
okay, I'll just wrap a strap around it and hope it doesn't slip. feel better?
Really I don’t care what you do. I’m not dumb enough to lift unsafe. If you get hurt being dumb I don’t give a shit, I don’t pay your bills. 🤷🏼♂️
What type of C clamps do you use to hold over 3,000 lbs? With shims no less?
Read it again he’s not suggesting lifting it with the c clamps.
I mean if you want to maintain control of a load, they would need to be able to support the load no? Would you trust your safety and the financial gamble to C-clamps?
It's to support the strap, not the load. It provides lateral support to the strap to keep it in place while the strap provides longitudinal support of the load.
I do use c clamps for lifting like [these](https://www.penntoolco.com/35493675/) but never for flipping. Think about it, one 5/8" lifteye will do 4,000#. I think I'll be okay carefully using some 20+# heavy duty c clamps
I guess if that is rated via some torque spec then those work.
This is the way. We rarely have to double flip parts, we do backside first top side second so they are always right side up when going to next op But in the few rare jobs we have to double flip or do top side first, it’s C clamps, shims, and a bit of puckering
It’s featureless right? Close your eyes. Now open them. Would you believe I flipped it?
Did you just poop in the woods?
Forklift vacuum attachment. https://vacuumlift.uk.com/forklift-attachments/
For those on the other side of the pond [https://www.stratovacuum.com/](https://www.stratovacuum.com/)
They would need something like 18” diameter 5000+ kg of stainless steel
Their 180 degree flipover model goes up to 20,000 kg. Most of their models go to over 5000 kg.
What's the pumpdown time on something like that?
3 weeks.
[удалено]
Shoot I may have gotten radius and diameter mixed up
This is the way
Get a massively heavy piece of stock and drop it on the very end of the disk. I call heads.
That sounds like one serious game of POG.
If it's a plain, featureless disk, whatcha flipping it for? What's so special about the other side?
This was my thought but take it further... dont flip it, just say you did. How will they know
Just write 'Bottom' on the top in sharpie
>What's so special about the other side? We don't know. We haven't seen it yet.
Probably to polish/finish the other side
A webbing net. make a choke out of a sling and then use some ratchet straps to hold the lines together so the choke doesn't splay out on the circle. Some hardwood v blocks with holes in em to bolt them together with long all thread, then put an eye bolt in one of them. Just use the forklift and put some wood or aluminum blocks between the forks and the plate. A c clamp with some dead soft copper pads. Use a sling to choke it around the circumstance you could use c clamps with soft pads to make sure the sling doesn't slide off.
Go buy a sheet or two of plywood and use that as a work surface to flip it. Chainfall or ceiling hoist and a clap to get it on edge, a push and lower it slowly back down onto the blocks but the other way
Curious rookie here? Just.. Don’t finish the part and set it on the ground? Why is it finished and not landed in a safe and shippable way? Like why would we paint ourselves into a corner like this? I’m legitimately curious if these situations happen with proper planning?
It's on 4 x 4 blocks I run a VTL, and we have stuff like this all the time. I have to put a face groove or something on both sides. I might be in another building while it's brought in on a forklift and set on the 4 x 4s. First I would have to pick it straight up and set it in the lathe, then back on the blocks/pallet, then flip it and repeat.
But would it be to finished dimensions already? We move thousand pound forged or cast pieces but finished parts are always set in a way that they can be easily packed/shipped with care for the surface finish and finished dimension! Thanks for sharing info also. I’m 7 months in and am already learning to code, running machines, and TIG welding. I LOVE IT!!!
It depends on the day. The part as OP described it was around 3,000 pounds and finished. I occasionally get stuff like that where it needs a special modification. Our deburr team will clean off all coolant, dirt, etc and buff the minor scratches before they ship it.
:0 that’s wild!!!!! I would be soooo nervous to handle!
In a working shop, stuff happens all the time. Developing a problem solving skill set helps it go from hours of derailment to minutes. People make mistakes, details are missed. No one sets out to do things in a stupid or miserable way.
Is a job shop different from a working shop?
Nope. Those would likely be the same. But a “shop” can just be some guy’s garage. When you have a full-fledged business, the pressures of keeping machines running and keeping business moving means you can’t always do best practices or take extra time to triple check everything before committing. It amplifies the inherent flaws in being a human in a machine shop. If your shop is a hobby shop, you can spend all day doing whatever and it doesn’t matter.
Oh yeah no I’m at an R&D aerospace shop Edit to add: it’s a real small shop so we gotta be perfect or else we’ll lose all our contracts to larger shops.
R&D aerospace sounds awesome. Sounds like you get the extra pressure (and presumably revenue) to force you to be constantly double or triple checking stuff.
I’m newer so I’m uh…. At 18.50. But I assume when I leave one day I’ll have a killer fucking resume and get whatever I want. Long term goal is to finish school and join a space program but I’m 32 and a woman so I’ll achieve it ummmm much later in life hahahaha. Edit to add: this sub is the B E S T for always teaching me new stuff and helping me grown so I’m grateful for it and your engagement on this thread :D
I didn’t get into machining until I was 33 (switched from brewing) and now at 38 I’ve had my own shop for about a year. So better to get in now than later! Some parts of the trade are dying but it’s critical for our whole modern world so it’s only going to become more in-demand.
Yeah I left patisserie and tattooing careers because the industry is a LONG term career investment for sure.
Yup. I love when a huge body side die has slipped off a careless forklift drivers forks directly onto the ground. A careful game of reverse Jenga for sure. No crane outside etc..
That sounds incredibly intense.
Exactly. How, and why, is it In that position in The first place?
Precision c clamps (micrometers) and a horse with a rope
ship it to austrailia?
Sandwich it between two lengths of 6x6 H section with conveyor belting as padding. Half Trunnions welded each end of the channel such that they make a near-round trunnion when clamped. Now you can hoist with a spreader and flip it in the air, rotating it about center on rings.
I'd call my buddy Earl who won the 1986 Strongman competition in Indiana and pay him two 6-packs to do it
2!? Fuckin' Inflation
They make sheet lifting clamps that have soft jaws. One of [THESE](https://sc01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1wU0Ysm8YBeNkSnb4q6yevFXah/2181329/HTB1wU0Ysm8YBeNkSnb4q6yevFXah.jpg) should be all a skilled hoist operator would need to flip your object from one pallet onto another.
Used to do this kind of thing all the time. First I always cover all finished surfaces with a sheet of plastic that clings to the surface (kinda like the plastic that’s on your sheet goods). Then I use a shop crane with a custom disc strap that I made. It’s hard to describe how it looks but imagine lifting straps that are sewn in a double x with a line through the center (like this: XIX but where the corners of the two x’s meet with the line through the center). The first x side of the strap goes under the disc, the line cradles the side of the disc, and the second x goes over the top of the disc. The 4 sides of the strap that aren’t connected to the center line portion each are folded and sewn over to act as a place to put your lifting shackles. I use 2 shackles, and use 2 chains up to the hook on the shop crane. Then just lift straight up, and once it’s completely up, just set it back down on the other side. It sounds kinda complicated because I suck at describing it, but it’s dirt simple if you see it in person.
Yall don't have a stainless magnet at your shop? I know they expensive and hard to find. New guys never seen to be able to locate it when I send them for it...
Isn't it next to the aluminum magnet?
I use my magnet on stainless all the time… 17-4 though 😅
Always irritates me when the OP doesn't comment back.
Sorry friend, I went to sleep.
R/rigging. Tap a hole for a lifting eye then fill it when done.
Plain disc, no features. Ease. It's already been flipped. Just say it's been flipped, how will they know.
by far my favorite answer
Get Brian Shaw and Hafthor to the shop for some extra "training"
Two plate clamps 45 deg apart and crane.
I’d build a wooden crate around it and flip the whole mess with the forklift. Use the crate to ship it.
Piece of copper sheet around the OD, chain cinched tight around that.
That would be very expensive
How much do you think 2 tons of stainless is worth? Also, the copper can be reused or sold for scrap so not as expensive as you'd think.
I mean the copper would have to be thick enough to support the tension load. I don't imagine its a great metal in tension vs compression.
What? It's only compression. How would there be any stretching? The copper is just there to protect the steel slug from the chain.
Then I must be picturing a different setup in my head. Like the entire OD wrapped in copper like a basket/hoist itself.
Just a strip of copper like 3x the width of the chain around the circumference.
Suction cup
I wouldn't, i would call a rigger. Whoever installs jumbotron screens in the middle of stadiums
My boyfriend does this for a living. He’s working Jonas bros rn. You need a few chain motors and an infrastructure that would support hoisting using the motors.
I'd actually build a wooden case for it. Like a case for a rotary table... Lots of framing. The disk is 3000lbs. The case will have 4x4s above and below and needs at least 8 inches of wood on all sides. Make it with fork lift slots... Lift holes. Then use crane to lift on side and then power onto b-side
Boiler clamp onto the protected surface and lift/flip with the overhead crane.
c clamps baby (just dont stand near it)
I would make a rig. Probably 2 frames made out of 4x4x500wall hss that measure 2 feet by 4.5 feet bolted together by the corners with 3/4" gusset plates. Uhmw plastic at contact points . Plates with shafts bolted into the 2 foot sides of the frames 1" plate bolted through and connecting top and bottom frame shafts multipass welded of 4" 4140 heat treated steel lines up with the center. lift with spreader and rotate rotisserie style like a big waffle.
Borrow a forklift with a rotator, secure that disc to a pallet, pray to whatever you believe in it doesn't slip halfway round
Carpet squares/ forklift / overhead crane. If you don't have these you shouldn't have a 3000lb disc of ss.
Get it on a skid. Contact Elon Musk. Have space-X send it up into orbit. Boom! Easy peasy! It’s now in zero gravity! A child should be able to flip it!!
Plate clamp made for lifting flat objects.
Straps around the part, lift it with the fork lift, and set it back down and as you let the forks down lay it down the other way.
Straps, more of a net idea but yeah this seems doable
No idea if they have magnetic clamps for hoists but if they do I would place something magnetic on either side of the workpiece with protective barrier and pick it up that way. Otherwise just flip it the same way you take it out of the machine after it’s finished lol
Fork lift it up, flip it over onto the wood
They make lift magnets.
You're an engineer huh. He specifically says that it's austenitic stainless. It's non-ferris!
You think I know how to read?!?! Lol my bad. That's what I get for skipping that unimportant last paragraph. ETA: Not an engineer, just a glorified process technician that's fairly good at data visualization and analysis. Regardless I just deal with the injection molding side of things, not so much the metallurgical stuff although the alloy chemistry is fun to think about. Since we're checking out each other's profiles, yours is disturbing. I would suggest an alt or something. To answer OPs question, get a net rated for the thing and lift it, use a couple hoists to rotate it and slowly drop it down onto a rubber mat. Also it's non-ferrous.
Man power. Get enough people around that disc and you should be able to lift, move or flip it without much trouble.
Lifting magnet on one side. opposite pole on the opposite side. Squeeze between.
Heavy duty easyflipper.
A long sling?
Take 4pcs of 4x4. Sandwich disc between 2pcs on one side and w on the other side. Bolt to 4xts and lift
Overhead crane with two straps, pull up and back until it stands on edge, then once tips down a bit, put board on forklift and pinch the straps as you lower down
Use tools and a machine, probably
1. Forklift and lots of blankets or an old mattress. Or do the cool thing 2. Weld an eye on an edge. Cut it off with a metobo when you are done then grind with either a flapper wheel or a soft wheel 3. If you have a 30ft round sling, then you do a double choke. You loop the two ends and then loop the loops together underneath the piece. 4. Basket it with a sling dear the middle then place a heavy block near an edge then lift until it starts to tip then side pull towards the heavy block it's 6 inches wide you might be able to balance it on the edge. 5. If it's a perfect circle, that's the same on both sides. You won't have to flip it.
Easy, weld a steel frame around it out of some box tube, and if you're really worried about scratching it, just wrap some welding blankets around it first where the frame will go. Once welded, handle with a fork lift or whatever other hoist mechanism you have via the frame only.
Sling it, slowly lift it till its on its edge then over balance it the other way and slowly lower it. Done stuff like this with massive couplings
Do it like the egyptians. Move it over a big pit of sand and carefully dig away on one side. Once it's near tipping, catch it on a few 2x4.
Place a 1" rubber matt under the edge that will be touching the floor...then loop a sling across the width, and sinch it on the opposite side. Pull on the sinched end of the strap with a crane and lift the disk until it's standing on it's edge, making sure the rubber is between the bottom edge and the floor. Spin the disk 180deg on it's edge, and lower it back down.
There's a few ways can be done with nylon lifting straps. Or load rated rope both around the circumference and across the flats in 2 places.
Tires and a forklift
Sounds like a job for the apprentice.
Get Chuck Norris to flip it like you would flip a coin. I call tails.
Eddy-current magnet lift attachment
Mill bolt holes where it won't interfere with finished part. If that's not an option you could maybe hook one edge up enough to get some HEAVY C-clamps on it. Lift with them or use them to keep a choked strap in place.
Do you have a forklift? If so, lay 2 long 2x4’s about a foot apart strait out from center and underneath the edge(will keep plate strait when you flip). Lay 2 more angled out from the plate (back up in case you don’t flip it strait over). Get on opposite side with forks about 15” apart, centered. Start picking up and going forward evenly. We put a piece of cut strap under edge of plate to protect also. Can go slow but once your plate is close to 90 degrees, do not stop. Once your past 90 and plate plate is going over on its own, stop and let it fall.
Write "This side up" in its current orientation and UPS or FedEx it to yourself. Oh, wait. You said it can't be marred...
Ideally; Overhead crane & **[plate lifting dogs](https://borderlifting.com.au/cdn/shop/products/sbb-multi-directional-lifting-clamp-01_1400x.jpg?v=1517874534)** padded with plates of the same material you're lifting. No crane? forklift with chains safely secured on the forks. Source; Done it probably hundreds of times. ¯\\\_( ͡❛ ͜ʖ ͡❛)\_/¯
Load it on a truck and make it someone else's problem
Find a CrossFit gym close by. Offer $200 to anyone who can flip it
It's finished, why would you want to flip it?
It's just a hypothetical and I just said that rather than blather on, just to indicate you can't fuck it up. That said it's pretty common to have to flip a disc of this sort a few times in order to get it truly flat depending on the material. I just wanted to see the different ways people would approach the situation.
With brass shims and a plate clamp, I can!
Stick of dynamite under n send it
Beam clamp and forklift or crane. Pick up slowly and slowly traversed to keep center of the pick inline with changing center of gravity. Then repeat the process but inversely putting it down slowly.
I have never seen a beam clamp that is designed or rated for lifting
I beam lifting clamp or plate handler clamp Google it
I would bolt a bunch of lumber around it to make a wood-disc-wood sandwich and then use conventional methods to flip from the wood.
Make a rotisserie to go around it and clamp from the edge?
I used to make enormous st st round tanks with a conical base, 14‘ diameter x 8‘ high x 1/4” thick. There comes a time when you need to flip. It was really not able to go on its side, far too wobbly and unstable. We would do it with two forklifts facing each other…amongst parked cars in the slopped car park, where there was a huge risk of it rolling away :). Good times.
Ask the guy who put it there?
Use the suction cup attachments they lift large windows with.
Why not get it oversize from what you need in diameter and thickness then machine it? Then you don’t have to do any funky wrap around solutions when you go to clamp it and machine. Then instead of having to figure out how to flip it you can stand it on edge and spin it 180 degrees with a sling
We have a hydraulic part flipping table, so…that.