Tower Crane Rentals and Sales South Carolina - Cranes are a popular kind of industrial equipment commonly used in the materials handling industry. Oftentimes, they are equipped with chains, wire ropes, a hoist rope or sheaves. These items allow cranes to lower and lift items vertically while transporting them horizontally. Heavy crates, shipping containers, machinery and similar items can be efficiently moved thanks to a variety of crane models.
Freight Transportation
Cranes are utilized to move items in terms of making loading and unloading easier and safer. Their lifting capacity varies depending on the model. 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 are numerous cranes suited for many different jobs. 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
This type of crane is fixed on a concrete slab to the ground. It is often seen attached to sides of structures as it provides excellent lifting and height capacity. Popular for building tall commercial buildings and residential structures, the base is mounted to the mast to create even further reach once extended. The mast is connected to the slewing unit of the crane that enables it to rotate. 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. The operator relies on electric motors to control wire rope cables in a system of sheaves and control the lifting hook. 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 an important part of daily safety. The rigger determines the crane’s lifting schedule and is responsible to make sure everything load and rigging wise is reliable and safe.
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. The same engine is responsible for providing power to the crane and the undercarriage. Hydraulics are responsible for providing power to the upper via the turntable from the pump mounted on the lower 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. Some operators prefer the older dual-engine models since there are often turntable leaks many newer units.
Cranes often need to travel on roads to different locations, eliminating the need for industrial transportation unless there are size and weight restrictions. Local transportation laws are in place. Larger machines may have trailers to distribute the load over a variety of axles. There are some crane models that can be taken apart to accommodate particular requirements. Typically, another truck with the disassembled counterweights will follow the crane.
Outriggers & Stability
Outriggers are extended horizontally from the chassis of the crane. The outriggers help to vertically stabilize the machine and keep it level during stationary and hoisting jobs. 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. Many models include moving counterweights to be adjusted to enhance stabilization farther than what the outriggers provide. Suspended loads are some of the most stable with most of the crane’s weight functioning like a counterweight. There are electronic safeguards in place to regulate the maximum safe loads for traveling speeds and stationary work.
Overhead and Bridge Cranes
An overhead crane is a kind of crane commonly called a bridge crane. This mechanism features a crane with a hook-and-line mechanism and horizontal beam that is designed to run along rails that are spaced widely. This type of crane resembles a gantry crane. They are common within factory buildings and attach to rails that run down two walls. Double beam or single beam construction model crane designs are available for overhead cranes, which may rely on complex box girder beam or regular steel beams. A control pendant may be used to operate the crane. Locations requiring heavy lifting from ten tons and higher may use a double girder bridge. The box girder style produces a system with a lower deadweight but offers higher system integrity. The hoist can lift the cargo along with the bridge portion covered by the crane and the trolley that can travel along the bridge.
The steel industry relies on overhead cranes for much of the manufacturing. Steel is typically handled by an overhead crane until it is transformed into a finished piece and leaves the factory. All steel is handled by an overhead crane from raw materials being poured to storing hot steel for cooling and transporting finished coils. 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. 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. Telescoping sections are popular. There are models that have the ability to stow or load themselves without any operator instruction. The operator needs to move around the vehicle for viewing access to the load. Modern models may rely on a radio-linked system or a portable cabled control system that works alongside 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
