Glass Weight and Suction-Cup Lifter Count
Glass weight and the suction-cup lifter count it takes.
Example
You enter
- Lite / unit area (ft²) 32
- Total glass thickness, all lites (in) 0.5
- Lifter safety factor 4
- Per-cup working load (lb) 150
- Glass weight (lb/ft² per in) 13
You get
- Glass weight 208 lb
- Suction cups 6
Details, formula, and sources
weight = area x thickness x density (~13 lb/ft^2 per in for soda-lime); cups = ceil(weight x safety factor / cup working load). A 4 x 8 ft insulated unit with a half-inch of total glass weighs 208 lb and at a 4:1 safety factor on 150-lb cups needs 6 cups; a monolithic 1/4 in lite of the same size is 104 lb and 3 cups. The safety factor and cup WLL come from the lifter manufacturer; a competent person and the rated lifter govern the pick.
weight_lb = area_sf x glass_thickness_in x glass_density_psf_in; cups = ceil(weight_lb x safety_factor / cup_wll_lb).
Suction-cup lifter identity by name (glass weight from area x thickness x density; cups from weight at a safety factor over the cup WLL); first-principles arithmetic.
The weight and count arithmetic is public first-principles; the safety factor and cup working load come from the lifter manufacturer.
Estimate. AHJ and licensed professional govern.
Field names used by the API: area_sf, glass_thickness_in, safety_factor, cup_wll_lb, glass_density_psf_in, weight_lb, cups
- Glass density ~13 lb/ft^2 per inch of thickness for soda-lime glassglass properties
- Safety factor / cup WLL ~4:1 on the per-cup working load; the lifter manufacturer governsANSI/ASME lifter rating