Field guide
Glazing robot vs spider crane vs boom lift.
Three different jobs. A glazing robot carries the panel rigidly and sets it. A spider crane hangs a load on a hook and reaches places a ground machine cannot stand. A boom lift carries people, not glass. The SL609 is the wrong tool above 13 ft 11 in, over an obstruction at reach, over 1,320 lb, and on soft ground.
What’s on this page.
Three machines, three different jobs. A capability comparison, including the four limits that make the SL609 the wrong answer and what to reach for instead.
By the Iron Bay team. Published . Last updated .
What each one is for.
Start with the load path. It explains almost every difference that follows.
A glazing robot sets the glass
It drives itself to the opening, grips the panel on vacuum pads and carries it rigidly on an arm. One person runs it from a remote. The panel is held, not hung, so it does not swing.
A spider crane lifts and swings
Outriggers down, boom up, load on a hook. It reaches further and higher than a ground machine and it can pick from where a machine cannot stand. It is a crane, with everything that comes with one.
A boom lift carries people
It takes a crew to height on a platform. It does not hold your panel. Glaziers do pair one with hand cups for high work, and that is a real method, but the boom is lifting the people.
Side by side.
What each machine is physically able to do. The robot column is the SL609 HLE RT datasheet.
| Glazing robot | Spider crane | Boom lift | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it holds | The panel, on four 16 in vacuum pads | A load on a hook | People, on a platform |
| Load path | Rigid arm | Suspended | Not a glass path |
| Lift height | 13 ft 11 in | Well past 30 ft | High, but it lifts the crew |
| Rated capacity | Up to 1,320 lb | Set by a load chart | A platform rating |
| Capacity at full reach | 330 lb | Falls off with radius | Not applicable |
| Setup | Drive in, legs down | Outriggers, pads, a plan | Position and level |
| Width to get in | 32.7 in to drive, 5 ft 8 in to work | Narrow crawler models exist | Wide, mostly outdoors |
| Ground | Four rubber wheels, firm ground | Outriggers spread the load | Models for uneven ground exist |
| Power | Battery electric, a full workday | Diesel or electric | Diesel or electric |
| Operator | One person on a remote | An operator and a rigging plan | A trained platform operator |
| Where it shines | Ground and first levels, tight access | Reach, height, awkward picks | Getting people up |
Where the robot wins.
Six job shapes where a ground machine is the right answer and the other two are overkill.
Multi-slide and folding glass walls
Panels from 400 lb up. The largest published multi-slide panels run to about 880 lb. There is no crew size that makes an 880 lb panel a good idea, and these all sit at grade.
Ground-floor storefront and entrances
Lites of 150 to 400 lb at 8 to 12 ft head height. That sits inside both the weight and the height envelope with room to spare.
Oversized impact windows and sliders
A 6 by 8 ft impact picture window is roughly 550 to 650 lb once it is glazed into its frame. Two people should not be handling that.
Tight urban infill
32.7 in to drive through. No outriggers on the sidewalk, no crane permit, no street closure, no set-up area to fence off.
Occupied buildings
Battery electric, so no exhaust and no noise to speak of. One operator in and out of a live tenant space.
Lanais, pool enclosures and screen-to-glass
Outdoor-series machine on four wheels with wide tires. Firm ground and it works outside all day.
Where it loses.
Four hard limits. Hit one of these and the SL609 is the wrong machine, and we will say so on the phone.
- Above 13 ft 11 inThat is the lift height on the datasheet and there is nothing above it. A spider crane, a telehandler with a glass head, or a truck crane takes it from there.
- Over an obstruction at reachThis is the one that catches people. Rated capacity is up to 1,320 lb with the arm in. At full extension it is 330 lb. Reaching over a knee wall, a planter or a sunken slab with a heavy panel is a spider crane job.
- Over 1,320 lbA jumbo impact unit glazed into its frame can pass 1,500 lb. That is out of this machine’s class. Ask about the bigger unit, or plan on a crane.
- Soft ground and slopesFour rubber wheels and 2,090 lb of machine before the load. The published slope limit is 6 degrees, with zero permissible load at 6 degrees. Sand, unimproved fill and grades need mats, a solid pad, or a different machine.
There is a fifth, and it is not a limit anyone argues with. Above the third floor on an exterior wall the standard method is a boom lift or a suspended platform with hand cups. A ground machine cannot get there.
Robot or crane, honestly.
The load path is the real difference between the two, and it decides more than the numbers do.
A spider crane hangs the panel from a hook. A glazing robot carries it on an arm. That changes what happens when the wind gets under a big lite, and it changes the paperwork. A crane on a construction site brings crane rules, a lift plan and a qualified operator with it.
We are not going to tell you a vacuum machine is exempt from anything. Which rules apply on your site is a call for your safety lead and your insurer, and we would rather you asked them than took our word for it. What we can tell you is exactly what the machine does and what it will not do.
The other honest difference is set-up. A crane wants outrigger pads, a set-up area and sometimes a lane closure. The robot wants a 33 inch opening and firm ground. On a tight infill job in a live downtown, that is the whole argument.
How to pick in one pass.
Five measurements. Take them before you price the job, not after you win it.
Weigh the heaviest single piece
Glazed, not glass only. Frame, hardware and beads add roughly a quarter to a third on top of the glass weight.
Measure the setdown height
Top of the panel, off the floor it is set from. Under 13 ft 11 in keeps a ground machine in play.
Measure the reach
How far past the machine the panel has to travel. Most people skip this one, and it kills more quotes than weight and height put together.
Look at the ground
Firm and level keeps it simple. Sand, fill or a grade means mats, a pad, or a different machine altogether.
Look at the way in
32.7 in to drive through, 5 ft 8 in to set the legs and work. Measure the room the glass lands in, not only the door.
If you send us those five numbers we will tell you which machine the job wants, including when the answer is one we do not rent.
Tell us the piece and the reach.
A few fields. An itemized quote comes back within two hours, 9 to 5, seven days a week.
The follow-ups.
The questions that usually come right after this one.
Is a glazing robot the same thing as a spider crane?
No. A spider crane hangs the load from a hook and works off a load chart that falls away with radius. A glazing robot grips the panel on vacuum pads and carries it rigidly on an arm. Different load path, different set-up, different jobs.
How high can a glazing robot reach?
The SL609 HLE RT lifts 13 ft 11 in. That is the datasheet figure and there is nothing above it. Above that you want a spider crane, a telehandler with a glass head, or a crane.
Why does capacity drop when the arm goes out?
The further the load sits from the machine, the more it tries to tip it. Rated capacity is up to 1,320 lb with the arm in and 330 lb at full extension. That is why we ask about reach before we ask about weight.
Can a boom lift set glass?
Not on its own. A boom lift carries people to height on a platform. Crews do use one with hand cups for upper-floor replacement work, but the panel is being carried by hands, not by the machine.
Can the machine work on sand or a slope?
Not without help. It runs on four rubber wheels and weighs 2,090 lb empty. The published slope limit is 6 degrees, with zero permissible load at 6 degrees. Soft ground needs mats or a solid pad, every time.
Where to next.
The pages this guide leans on, and the other three guides.
Not sure which machine your job wants?
Send the weight, the height and the reach. We’ll tell you straight, including when the answer is a machine we don’t rent.