Tower Crane Rentals and Sales Kansas - Cranes are a popular kind of industrial equipment commonly used in the materials handling industry. Depending on the application, cranes may have wire ropes, sheaves, chains or a hoist rope. These items allow cranes to lower and lift items vertically while transporting them horizontally. Cranes make transporting cumbersome loads including machinery, shipping containers and crates much easier.
Freight Transportation
Cranes simplify loading and unloading and moving items. The lifting capacity depends on the model. Cranes deliver a major mechanical advantage, allowing people to lift tremendous amounts of freight. Cranes are found in many industries and often seen on construction sites.
Specified Use
Jib cranes can be tiny and are suited for cramped and smaller environments including workshops while giant tower cranes can be employed to construct high-rises. There is a crane perfectly suited for a variety of applications. Some cranes can allow access to tight spaces. Floating cranes can be useful for salvaging sunken ships and other marine items. They may also be used on oil rigs.
Tower Cranes
The type of crane that is fixed on a concrete slab is a tower crane. It is often seen attached to sides of structures as it provides excellent lifting and height capacity. These cranes are used in residential and commercial construction. The base is mounted to the mast which can create further reach by extension. The slewing unit of the crane and it’s connected mast allow rotation of the crane. The long horizontal jib, the shorter counter-jib and the operator’s cab are all found above the slewing portion.
The long horizontal jib is the main crane component responsible for carrying the load. The counterweight is created by the counter-jib that may utilize concrete blocks. The jib handles the load to and from the center of the crane. Typically, the operator is found inside of a cab located on top of the tower that is attached to the turntable; however, it can be mounted on the jib alternatively. Operators can use a radio remote control unit from the ground. The operator relies on electric motors to control wire rope cables in a system of sheaves and control the lifting hook. The sizeable horizontal arm contains the cargo hook along with its’ motor. Often, the operator works alongside a rigger to accurately coordinate unhooking and hooking loads. Daily safety requires many important hand signals. The rigger dictates the lifting schedule for the crane and is responsible to ensure all loads and subsequent rigging is safe and reliable.
Truck-Mounted Cranes
Truck mounted cranes consist of two parts including the boom and the carrier. These two items have a turntable to attach them, allowing the higher portion the ability to swing from side-to-side. Typically, modern hydraulic truck cranes feature single engines. This engine has the responsibility of providing power to the undercarriage and the crane. Hydraulics are necessary for delivering power to the upper portion of the crane through the turntable located from the pump attached to the bottom portion. Original, older hydraulic crane truck models commonly featured dual engines. One engine controlled the hydraulic pump for the outriggers and the jacks while the other engine was responsible for the crane’s travel. There are operators who would rather run the older two-engine models due to the frequent turntable leaks that often occur in some of the newer designs.
Cranes commonly have to travel via roads to get to different jobs. This can eliminate industrial transportation requirements unless the crane is sizeable with certain weight restrictions. Transportation falls under local laws. Generally, bigger cranes have trailers to help the load become distributed over many axles. There are some crane models that can be taken apart to accommodate particular requirements. A crane will often be followed by another truck containing the counterweights that are disassembled for travel.
Outriggers & Stability
Outriggers horizontally extend from the cranes’ chassis to provide stability. These are used vertically to stabilize the machine and keep it level during hoisting and stationary activities. Specific crane truck models can slowly travel with a suspended load. Care is given to ensure the load doesn’t swing during travel. The stiffness of the chassis suspension delivers most of the anti-tipping aspect. Counterweights can be moved and adjusted on certain models to enhance stabilization even more than what the outriggers deliver. Suspended loads are some of the most stable with most of the crane’s weight functioning like a counterweight. Safeguards are in place electronically to monitor the maximum safe loads for traveling speeds and stationary work.
Overhead and Bridge Cranes
A bridge crane is a type of overhead crane. This concept features a hook-and-line mechanism and a crane with a horizontal beam that is made to run along rails. This type of crane resembles a gantry crane. They are common within factory buildings and attach to rails that run down two walls. Cranes can be made with single or double beam construction and may rely on complex box girders or regular steel beams. A control pendant may be used to operate the crane. A double girder bridge can be used in places that require heavy lifting such as 10 tons or more. Higher system integrity and a lower deadweight may be delivered via the box girder style. Cargo can be lifted with a hoist and the trolley that can travel along the bridge along with the bridge component covered by the crane.
The manufacturing process of the steel industry utilizes cranes frequently. Steel is typically handled by an overhead crane until it leaves the factory as a finished piece. An overhead crane handles all kinds of steel including raw materials being pored to transporting finished oils and storing hot steel. Overhead cranes lift steel components onto trucks. Metal fabricators and stampers use this equipment every day including the auto industry to transport raw materials.
Pulp & Paper Mills
Bridge cranes are often relied on for regular pulp mill maintenance including removing equipment such as heavy press rolls. Paper machines rely on bridge cranes during construction to install massive equipment including cast iron paper drying drums and other heavy apparatus.
Loader Crane
Powered electrically with an articulated arm attached to a truck or trailer, specific for loading and unloading, the loader crane has numerous joints to allow the machine to be folded into a small space between uses. These telescoping abilities are useful. Some models can even load or stow themselves on their own without any operator intervention. The operator can move around the machine in order to view the load. Current models often feature a portable cabled control system or radio-linked system that works beside hydraulic controls that are mounted on the crane.
Gantry Crane
A gantry crane features a hoist located on a trolley running horizontally along rails, often fitted on two beams or a single beam or in a fixed machinery house. The crane frame is supported via beams and wheels on a gantry system and runs on the gantry rail which is generally perpendicular to the trolley direction of travel. The gantry cranes are available in numerous sizes. Some models can move extremely heavy loads for industrial and shipyard applications.
Tower Cranes PDF
