How to Calculate Scissor Lift Length
The scissor jack lift's length is proportional to the scissor support weight and the integrity of the steel cross sections over the length. The scissor structures weight and length are corollaries, meaning that the former determines the latter for a stable scissor jack. An extreme example of this to illustrate the point would be a 20-foot lift length which is featherweight made from Styrofoam that is pretty much weightless. It definitely will not be able to support at much of a height and will not be able to support a lot at all.
Determine how high in the air the platform would be raised to calculate or determine the length of the scissor lift required to support the weight of both occupants and objects on the platform in relation to the weight of the platform.
The number of cross-sections of scissor folding supports sections that will be necessary to be extended at their full extension in order to reach the needed height within the weight support parameters. Lastly, you would never want to ascend a few workers up on a platform along with their supplies that is on a platform supported by any type of unstable structure because clearly any machine which is prone to tipping would really put people in a very dangerous situation.
Determine the weight of each scissor cross-section. This is very important to determining the length and weight of the scissor lift you will need along with the overall stability of the machinery. When completely extended, determine the angle between the ground or horizontal level against the scissor arms measured.