Moving Machinery In & Out
of
MRI Suites
The Magnet Is Always On
The problem every shop hits: A superconducting MRI magnet typically stays energized around the clock — patients or no patients, lights on or off. Any ferromagnetic object that enters the magnet room can be pulled toward the bore with violent force: steel skates, jacks, chains, hand tools, even the fasteners inside equipment that looks nonmetallic. That’s why MRI facilities run a four-zone access system, with Zone IV — the magnet room itself — under the strictest control, and why every move in or near the suite is governed by the facility’s MR safety leadership. See a typical access-control framework at UCSF’s MRI safety guidelines.
Sometimes better even when you could lift it: Conventional machinery skates and dollies are steel through and through — frames, wheels, axles, bearings. Near an active magnet they’re not just unapproved; they’re projectiles waiting for clearance they’ll never get. And no, the magnet doesn’t get shut down for a routine move: ramping down or quenching a superconducting magnet is a major, costly event with its own risks — never a rigging shortcut.
Why Machinery Sliders™ Fit MR-Controlled Environments
The problem every shop hits: A Machinery Slider™ is a solid piece of engineered polymer — no steel wheels, no axles, no bearings, no frames, no grease. And unlike most “nonmetallic” equipment, there’s no fine print: no metal inserts, no fasteners, no hidden hardware. The slider is 100% polymer, top to bottom — nonmagnetic and nonmetallic through and through, which is the starting point every MR safety officer is looking for in anything that approaches the controlled zones. (Formal MR-environment classification is always the facility’s evaluation to make — see the honest fine print below.)
The Approval Chain Runs the Move
Everything gets screened — everything: In MR-controlled zones, the facility’s MR safety officer screens and approves every item before it crosses the line: the machine, the sliders, the jacks, the pulling gear, the hand tools, and the people. Even nonmetallic-looking tools get screened, because hidden fasteners and internal parts can be ferromagnetic. One specific note from us: the retaining pins and bolts sometimes used with our 1″-hole multi-directional sliders are user-supplied and typically steel — they stay out of the magnet room unless the MR safety officer has screened and approved them.
The honest fine print: We don’t market Machinery Sliders™ as universally “MRI safe” — no responsible vendor should. Formal MR-environment classification belongs to the facility’s evaluation of the complete product for the specific site and field strength. What we can tell you is what the sliders are: solid polymer containing no metal whatsoever — no inserts, no fasteners, no hidden hardware — no wheel assemblies, no bearings, no grease.
The practical payoff: Less big steel near the magnet. The machine rides low and controlled on polymer, the forklift and heavy wheeled gear stay outside the controlled zones, and final positioning happens with hand force and 360° multi-directional control. Sets of four start at $142.97 in our store, or call 1 (570) 622-2848 — bring your MR safety officer to the call; we like it that way.
Straightforward returns: Standard shipping via UPS, USPS, or expedited shipping is available at checkout. LTL freight shipping for larger volumes is available upon request. We select the fastest shipping method that is available in that price-range even though a different carrier has been selected. If a Slider arrives with a material defect, or you decide it’s not right for your application, we accept returns on unused product — buyer covers return shipping and original shipping cost is non-refundable. No runaround, no restocking games.