Whoever doubts the idea that a tool might be useful in proportion to its simplicity has probably never heard of light inspection tables. It must be said, though that those who haven’t heard of them or haven’t thought to use them have missed out on a truly extraordinary piece of equipment that has the power to assist in an impressively wide variety of different kinds of projects, whether industrial, personal or otherwise.
Furthermore, as mentioned, this great versatility and usefulness are bought at an astonishingly simple price; for, at bottom, inspection light tables are just what their name suggests they are: tables or workbenches coupled with a light source. That light source easily allows for close and careful inspection of whatever is placed upon the table surface.
The following is written for those who are new to light inspection tables. But who have work in mind that requires the presence of a reliable, powerful and convenient source of light. As we’ll show you, whether you’re an artist who needs light tables for drawing to help you bring an artistic vision to life. Or a scientist looking for an inspection table to help illuminate your lab so you can carry out precision work with ease or anything in between. These simple but powerful illuminated surfaces can contribute mightily and importantly to your work.
RDM Industrial Products is the proud manufacturer of a diverse array of different kinds of lab furniture, but light and inspection tables are among the things we take the most pride in specially crafting for our clients. Before you set out to bring light to your labor, however, here are a few important questions about inspection light tables that we can answer to bring you up to speed about them.
RDM Adjustable Height Light Inspection Table – Model A-107P-LT-CURBS-01 has perimeter containment curbs to help keep small items on the inspection platform.
1. What kinds of different light and inspection tables are there?
RDM manufactures industrial-quality light and inspection tables in three basic design styles: a standard table style, a workstation style and a rotating vertical panel style. Standard models can be subdivided into tilting light tables and non-tilting versions. There is a further variation on the standard table that is larger and features an overhead light boom. Workstation models come with overhead racks. Panels are larger than most tables and their surface can be oriented totally vertically.
Check out a listing of all of our different models light inspection tables here.
2. What are light inspection tables made of?
Another obvious question sure to be on the lips of those new to illuminated surfaces is what these things are made of. Of course, the style that you choose will have some significant bearing on your model’s overall construction and makeup, but we can make the following general remarks.
First, the framing that holds up all our models is made of sturdy tubular steel. This includes both of legs of each of our tables as well as any overhead hanging or lighting racks.
As for the surfaces themselves, we prefer to give you as many customizability options as possible. The surface of our tilting panel model, called LT-100P, is made of glass. However, all other table and workbench surfaces can be either made from laminated plastic, stainless steel, solid wood in the style of a butcher block, or other materials. If there is a special material you require, ask us and we will be able to fulfill your request.
Surfaces made from either plastic or stainless steel can also be coated in chemical-resistant or ESD anti-static material if you expect to be working with corrosive chemicals or substances that generate electricity.
3. How do light tables’ lighting systems work?
All of RDM’s light tables use either LED or fluorescent lighting. You may request either LED or fluorescent bulbs to go with whichever kind of table or panel you want, and we’ll create a factory-direct model set to your specifications. In addition, the location of the light source varies depending on the table style that you choose. Models built in either the standard table or the panel style emit light from light boxes located beneath the surface. Models built in the workbench style, on the other hand, emit they’re light from an overhead rack.
Lastly, RDM also gives you the option of customizing the color of light you’d light your table to emit. You can choose standard white light or another color like red, blue or green.
4. How do they handle weight?
If the centrepiece of each light table is its lighting system, not far off in order of importance is each table’s hydraulic motor. The hydraulic motor is used to lift and adjust the height of each table to your needs. It can be operated either with a manual hand crank or with buttons that work the electric motor. And course, this motor can have some fairly significant weight-bearing capacity, making it quite useful if you should need to inspect heavy objects.
In fact, our inspection light tables come standard with hydraulic motors with 1,000 pounds of lift capacity. If you like, you can supercharge your motor to either 1,500, 2,000 or 3,000 pounds.
5. How does the tilting feature work?
Tilting light tables are some of the coolest and most useful products that we offer. Sometimes, you’ll need to inspect something while it’s held at an angle. Thus, tilting light inspection tables give you the power to do precisely that. Like the lift system, the tilting feature can operated either through a manual hand crank or though an electrically powered hydraulic motor. The crank or the buttons to operate the motor are conveniently located on the side of each table. The tilt can be designed for weight-bearing capacities anywhere between 250 and 500 pounds.
6. What are the dimensions like?
The surface dimensions of our models vary widely. However, we can custom build tables for you that are anywhere from 24 to 72 inches in width, with each option separated by an increment of 12 inches. Our overhead light boom table can be custom-made up to 96 inches wide, and we can go all the way up to 144 inches with our workbenches.
7. Which industries use light tables/inspection tables?
Last but not least is the question of which industries use light tables and whom they typically serve. Artists and architects often make use of light tables for drawing when putting together works of art or carefully drawing up design plans. Even engineers use light tables for drawing when they have to either draw up or examine building plans. Hospitals and clinics often use them when examining x-rays or other kinds of important patient results. Scientists who require high visibility when doing their high-precision lab work are also grateful to have them.
This list, of course, only scratches the surface. If you need to examine anything on a flat surface, chances are that a light table will do you good.
Conclusion
Now that you know a bit about light tables and inspection tables — about what they are, how they work, how they’re built and what they can do for you — the only thing that remains is for you to select the right model for you and your needs. At RDM we’re happy to say that our light tables are proudly manufactured in the USA. And because every unit is factory-direct, we have the ability to customize our units very precisely to meet your needs.
It’s time to Call RDM today, to let us help you design your new Light Table or Inspection Table.