Frame Machine vs Frame Bench: a Buying Guide

Frame machine, frame bench, bench — what is what

Three terms recur in straightening quotations, and they name different scopes. As the terms are used in the VF series list:

• A bench — the bench models listed by name in the series: the VF6000 scissor bench, the VF7000, VF7100 and VF8000 benches, the tilt-lift benches set out below, and a further straightening bench listed in the range without a model designation of its own.
• A frame machine — the category name the VF series is listed under; its fifteen models are the benches, the full-lift platforms, the three puller formats and the heavy machine named in this guide.
• A puller is one of the three straightening pullers listed by name in the series — in-ground, anchor or portable.

The three terms name different scopes. The VICO VF series spans all of them — fifteen models.

The VF6000 scissor bench

The one scissor bench with a published description is the VF6000. On that model, the car drives straight onto the bench — no ramps to position — and a scissor lift raises it to a working height of 120–1,700 mm. The pulling tower travels around the bench; on the VF6000 it rides a ring rail through a full 360°. The bench itself is built from cold-drawn high-alloy rectangular tube, as recorded for the model. The same record lists universal clamping fixtures and an electric pump with a hand-held remote control among the bench's equipment.

Full-lift platforms

The VICO range lists the VF5300, VF5400 and VF5500 as full-lift electric platforms, three models in all. Their specifications are confirmed on quotation. The tilt-lift list adds the VF4400 complete-plate bench and the tube-model variants, recorded under the VF4000 and VF4000-G names. The remaining bench names in the series are the VF7000 Bench B, the VF7100 Bench B Plus and the VF8000 Bench C, together with a further straightening bench listed in the range without a model designation of its own; each is listed by name with its specification confirmed on quotation.

Tilt-lift benches

The tilt-lift benches are the VF4400 complete-plate bench and the tube-model variants, recorded under the VF4000 and VF4000-G names. The series list records the format name and the model names; construction, repair scope and price for these models are confirmed on quotation.

Pullers: in-ground, anchor, portable

The range lists the three puller formats by name: the VF1100 in-ground puller, the VF3100 anchor puller and the VF2100 portable puller. Each puller's specification — its capacity and its installation requirements — is confirmed on quotation.

The fifteen entries in the series, collected: the VF6000, VF7000, VF7100 and VF8000 benches; the VF5300, VF5400 and VF5500 full-lift electric platforms; the VF4400 tilt-lift complete-plate bench and the VF4000 and VF4000-G tube-model variants; the VF1100 in-ground, VF3100 anchor and VF2100 portable pullers; the VF9000 heavy machine; and a further straightening bench, listed in the range without a model designation of its own. Two of the fifteen carry published descriptions or data sheets on this site — the VF6000 and the VF9000; the rest are listed by name, with specifications confirmed on quotation.

When the vehicles are trucks

The heavy end is its own format. The heavy machine's recorded figures: a platform of 11,800 mm (the VF9000), lift capacity of 20 tonnes and pull force of 245 kN, on a machine that itself weighs twelve tonnes. Its hydraulic system is recorded at 70 MPa working pressure with a 30-tonne cylinder capacity, and its platform width is 2,560 mm at a platform height of 600 mm. The heavy machine is a separate format from the car benches in the range, with its own figures, recorded above and on its product page.

The formats, restated

• Scissor bench — the VF6000: drive-on loading without ramps, and a scissor lift working height of 120–1,700 mm, as recorded for this model.
• Full-lift platform — the VF5300, VF5400 and VF5500, listed as full-lift electric platforms.
• Tilt-lift bench — the VF4400 complete-plate bench and the tube-model variants, listed by name.
• Pullers — the VF1100 in-ground, VF3100 anchor and VF2100 portable pullers, listed by name.
• Heavy machine — the dedicated format for trucks and commercial vehicles.

The two published records, side by side

Two of the fifteen models carry published records on this site, and the details in this section are drawn from those two records. The pulling system, on the VF6000: its record states that the tower travels the full perimeter on a 360° ring rail.

The clamping, on the VF6000: its record lists universal clamping fixtures among its equipment. The clamping arrangement for each bench is confirmed on quotation, as it is for the other benches in the range.

For scale at the heavy end of the same range: the VF9000's platform measures 11,800 mm, its post tension is rated at 245 kN, its maximum lift capacity is 20 tonnes and the machine itself weighs 12,000 kg.

The VF series list runs to fifteen models in all — the benches, the three puller formats and the heavy machine among them — each listed by name in the series list set out above; the frame machine page sets out the range.

Measuring sits outside the bench list: the VF list records benches, platforms and pullers, and measuring systems sit in a separate line of the wider range, listed by category. Each bench's specification is confirmed on quotation.

One last terminology trap: pulling force. Raise the rating with your enquiry for the model you are considering — whether a rating is recorded for that model, and what it is, is confirmed on its quotation. On the heavy VF9000, the published figures are 245 kN of post tension against a twelve-tonne machine.

Power and installation, for the record: the VF6000's power comes from an electric pump with a hand-held remote control, as its description records. Each model's power supply and installation requirements are part of its specification, confirmed on quotation.

The recorded figures for the two documented formats, collected in one place: the VF6000 — a scissor lift working height of 120–1,700 mm, a pulling tower travelling 360° on a ring rail, universal clamping fixtures and an electric pump with hand-held remote control; the VF9000 — a platform of 11,800 × 2,560 × 600 mm, hydraulic pressure of 70 MPa, a cylinder capacity of 30 T, post tension of 245 kN through a 270° working range, a maximum lift capacity of 20 T and a machine weight of 12,000 kg. The VF9000's voltage is recorded as three-phase 380 V, 415 V and 220 V.