Tower Crane Rentals and Sales Scottsdale - A popular machine within the materials handling family is the crane. These machines may be outfitted with sheaves, a hoist rope, wire ropes or chains. 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 are utilized to move items in terms of making loading and unloading easier and safer. Different models have various lifting capacities. Cranes deliver a major mechanical advantage, allowing people to lift tremendous amounts of freight. Cranes are popular in a variety of industries and found in many locations.
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 utilized for maritime applications such as salvaging sunken items or on oil rigs.
Tower Cranes
A tower crane is a model that is fixed on a concrete slab to the ground. This model is commonly attached to the sides of structures. It offers precise height and lifting reliability. Popular for building tall commercial buildings and residential structures, the base is mounted to the mast to create even further reach once extended. The slewing unit of the crane and it’s connected mast allow rotation of the crane. Above the slewing component, the operator cab is situated, along with the long horizontal jib and the counter jib.
The long horizontal jib is the main crane component responsible for carrying the load. Concrete blocks may be used with the counter-jib to create the counterweight. The jib houses the crane’s load to and from the center. 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. Electric motors are used to operate the lifting hook and control wire rope cables located within a sheaves system. The long horizontal arm houses the cargo hook and its’ motor. The operator commonly works together with a rigger to safely hook and unhook loads. Hand signals are a huge safety component used daily. The rigger has an important job dictating the crane’s lifting schedule. They are responsible for making sure all rigging is reliable and safe.
Truck-Mounted Cranes
The boom and the carrier are two parts found on truck-mounted cranes. 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. The engine supplies power to both 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. Earlier hydraulic crane trucks commonly had two 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.
You may have witnessed cranes traveling on roads to travel from site to site. This can eliminate the need for industrial transportation requirements unless the crane is of sizeable weight with size restrictions. Local laws may be in place regarding transportation. Typically, larger cranes are outfitted with trailers to help distribute the load over numerous axles. There are some crane models that can be taken apart to accommodate particular requirements. Often an additional truck will follow the crane. The truck has the counterweights that have been disassembled for travel.
Outriggers & Stability
Outriggers horizontally extend from the cranes’ chassis to provide stability. Vertical stability is achieved by the outriggers to keep the machine level while completing hoisting and stationary applications. Some truck crane units can travel at slow speeds even while carrying a suspended load. Extra care is taken to make sure the load does not swing side to side from the travel direction. Most of the anti-tipping capability is related to how stiff the chassis suspension is. Moving counterweights are included in a variety of models to amplify stabilization further than what the outriggers offer. Suspended loads are among the most stable due to the majority of the crane’s weight acting as a counterweight. Safeguards are in place electronically to monitor the maximum safe loads for traveling speeds and stationary work.
Overhead and Bridge Cranes
An overhead crane is often referred to as a bridge crane. This concept features a hook-and-line mechanism and a crane with a horizontal beam that is made to run along rails. These cranes are similar to a gantry crane and are often found in long factory buildings and attach to rails that run down two long walls. Cranes can be made with single or double beam construction and may rely on complex box girders or regular steel beams. Certain overhead cranes have the ability to use a control pendant for operation. A double girder bridge can be used in places that require heavy lifting such as 10 tons or more. The box girder design creates a system featuring higher system integrity with a lower deadweight. The hoist is another item that is utilized to lift the cargo, the bridge spanning the portion covered by the crane and a trolley to move along the bridge.
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. From raw materials to pouring hot steel and moving finished product, overhead cranes handle steel at every stage. Steel items are moved onto trucks via overhead cranes. Metal fabricators and stampers and the automobile industry rely on these machines.
Pulp & Paper Mills
Bridge cranes are commonly used in pulp mill maintenance. They are responsible for removing equipment including heavy press rolls. Bridge cranes are used in the construction of paper machines as they facilitate the installation of giant equipment and apparatus including the cast iron paper drying drums and other massive items.
Loader Crane
Powered with an electric articulated arm attached to a trailer or truck for loading and unloading, the loader crane is complete with many joints to facilitate folding the machine into a small space between jobs. Telescopic sections are common. Certain models are equipped to stow themselves or load themselves without any instruction from the operator 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
There is a hoist on the gantry crane found in a fixed machinery house or a horizontal trolley that runs along rails often fitted between two beams or a single beam. 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. These cranes are available in many sizes and capable of moving heavy and cumbersome loads for industrial applications and in shipyards.
Tower Cranes PDF
