Tower Crane Rentals and Sales Riverside - 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 can lift difficult loads to make unloading and loading safer and more efficient. Different models have various lifting capacities. 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
There are different cranes for many applications. Jib cranes can be used for tighter environments including workshops. Extensive tower cranes can be seen in construction. There is a crane perfectly suited for a variety of applications. Some cranes can allow access to tight spaces. Floating crane models may be employed to salvage sunken marine items including ships or used in oil rigs.
Tower Cranes
This type of crane is fixed on a concrete slab to the ground. This unit is often seen mounted to sides of structures to provide superior lifting and height. Popular for building tall commercial buildings and residential structures, the base is mounted to the mast to create even further reach once extended. The crane is capable of rotating thanks to the mast that connects to the slewing unit. On top of the slewing portion are three parts known as the operator’s cab, the shorter counter-jib and the long horizontal jib.
The majority of the load is carried via the long horizontal jib. The counterweight is created by the counter-jib that may utilize concrete blocks. The jib contains the load to and from the crane’s center. Normally the crane operator stays inside of a cab found on top of the tower attached to the turntable; although, it may be mounted on the jib instead. 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. Daily safety requires many important hand signals. 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
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. Updated hydraulic truck cranes are typically single-engine units. This engine has the responsibility of providing power to the undercarriage and the crane. The pump mounted on the lower area of the crane supplies power to the upper part of the crane via hydraulics and a turntable. Earlier hydraulic crane trucks commonly had two engines. One engine allowed the crane to be pulled down the road while the other engine controlled the hydraulic pump for the jacks and outriggers. Certain operators prefer the two-engine models due to the turntable leaks that commonly occur in newer design models.
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. Certain cranes can be taken apart to meet certain requirements. Often an additional truck will follow the crane. The truck has the counterweights that have been disassembled for travel.
Outriggers & Stability
Outriggers are extended horizontally from the chassis of the crane. 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. Extra care is taken to make sure the load does not swing side to side from the travel direction. 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. 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. 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. A double girder bridge can be used in places that require heavy lifting such as 10 tons or more. The box girder style produces a system with a lower deadweight but offers higher system integrity. 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 steel industry relies on overhead cranes for much of the manufacturing. An overhead crane typically handles steel until it exits the factory as a completed item. From raw materials to pouring hot steel and moving finished product, overhead cranes handle steel at every stage. 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
Pulp mill maintenance commonly relies on bridge cranes. They are responsible for removing items including heavy press rolls. Bridge cranes utilized in paper machine construction help to install large apparatus’ and equipment including huge components such as cast-iron paper drying drums and similar items.
Loader Crane
Electrically powered with an articulated arm attached to a trailer or a truck and specified for unloading and loading, the loader crane consists of many jointed components that enable the machine to be folded into a small space between uses. 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. 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
A gantry crane has a hoist in a fixed machinery house or on a trolley that runs horizontally along rails, usually fitted on a single beam or two beams. The crane frame is supported on a gantry system with equalized beams and wheels that run on the gantry rail, usually perpendicular to the trolley travel direction. The gantry cranes are available in numerous sizes. Some models can move extremely heavy loads for industrial and shipyard applications.
Tower Cranes PDF