Somiram Installs Two Cranes At Waltefaugle

Somiram has installed two box cranes equipped with Verlinde hoists in a new workshop at its Waltefaugle factory in the Franche Comte region of France. What distinguishes this installation is a maximum span obtained by modifying the hoist trolley-hook crossbeams. Waltefaugle is a specialist in metal-frame buildings, with 13,500 metric tons of annual production. Waltefaugle's two new double-rail box cranes - a 10-ton and a 12.5-ton crane - were manufactured and put into operation by Somiram.

The new production line at the Waltefaugle factory has two major machines. One cuts 2 x 14m sheets of metal, with the first crane handling these big sheets and the cut parts. The second crane handles the final welded reconstituted beams. The two workstations are 40m apart and work simultaneously. In the new workshop, Waltefaugle makes variable inertia beams, which offer new sales horizons. Variable inertia beams are used in buildings where extra floor space is needed. The two cranes are made with mechanically welded boxes. They are 7m high, with a span of around 21m.

They are equipped with radio-controlled Verlinde Eurobloc VT electric cable hoists and can both be run from the same control. They both have a spreader with suction-cup grips for handling sheet metal and beams. Verlinde Eurobloc VT electric-cable hoists were modified to enable the crane-steering trolley to travel along the full length of the boxes for a maximum approach. By modifying the hoist trolley-hook crossbeams, Somiram was able to 'embed' the hoist into the boxes and thereby maximise use of the approaches against the workshop pillars.

ABUS Underslung Cranes Get Heavy With Antiques

A museum has chosen two ABUS underslung cranes to help in the movement of heavy antiques that needed to be restored. The Victoria and Albert Museum (V and A), London, approached ABUS Crane Systems to assist in finding a sensitive solution for the restoration of high value but often extremely heavy antiques, such as a bust of George III. The museum required a lifting device capable of moving a variety of objects from the most fragile works of art to heavy stone artefacts.

Via slings, objects would require being held in a certain position to have broken or chipped surfaces re-bonded. Precise adjustments would be required to ensure that the 'mend' is unseen. The lifting solution also had to operate within a basement room measuring 4m x 4m, and in order to optimise the available space, a bulky support gantry was to be avoided if possible. The V and A museum eventually chose two, which were suspended from the ceiling structure and avoided the necessity for a gantry completely. Each crane was fitted with two hoists, each with the ABUS ABUliner infinitely variable speed control. This arrangement offered a four-point lift and allowed the precision control in three axes that the museum had demanded.

The ABUliner not only allows the speed of the motor to be continuously variable, but it also boasts a very low minimum speed for sensitive operations and its smooth performance virtually eliminates load bounce or swing and extends the useful life of the cranes motors and support structures. Variations in speed are achieved simply by gently increasing or decreasing thumb pressure on the pendant hand set buttons. The crane system was supplied with a four-year guarantee and ISO9001 compliance as standard.

CXT Overhead Cranes For Warehouse Complex

Ferrocut has installed Konecranes CXT overhead cranes at its factory and warehouse complex, located in the Techport Australia industry hub near Adelaide. Ferrocut is supplying cut-steel plate from its facility to a range of industry customers, including engineering, infrastructure and mining groups, as well as processing ship plate for the ASC. The company's six CXT cranes are being used to lift and transport steel plates and cut-steel parts.

Some of the cranes have anti-sway controls and two are fitted with Trunninger plate magnets, allowing easy lifting and moving of large loads. Emile Ellens, equipment manager for Ferrocut, said: 'The dual hoists on the production cranes allow us to lift the steel plates from two points instead of one, which prevents the plates from rotating. 'We're able to keep them all lined up the same way in the warehouse, resulting in safer and more efficient handling.

'The anti-sway feature, which we hadn't experienced before, prevents the load from swaying during travel, which is a big safety issue. 'Anti-sway takes some of the pressure off the crane operators, who don't have to be so experienced. 'Two of the cranes have electromagnets fitted, which make the cranes more efficient and increase our productivity, because chains are not needed to lift the plates. CXT cranes with individual hoist capacities up to 80 tons are designed to provide easy and effective load handling and optimum dimensions for maximising the hook travel.

They have hook approaches at both ends of the crane and the headroom requirement is minimal. CXT cranes are designed to eliminate unused or under-utilised square meters because the crane can operate closer to the walls and lift the load higher. Inverter controls deliver smooth starts, acceleration and deceleration, which minimises load swing and enables fast and accurate load positioning. Konecranes Dynafamily inverter controls and pole-changing controls are standard options for CXT cranes.

CXT features include high-performance hoisting motors with 60 per cent ED rating, which combine extra power with superior cooling characteristics. The hoisting motors also have the power and flexibility for temporary peak-usage situations. Smooth starts and stops reduce wear and mechanical stress on structures and minimise the load sway. Improved productivity is achieved because moving and positioning the load is faster, easier and safer.

This performance is combined with accurate gears with hardened and ground helical gearwheels, semi-fluid lubrication and corrosion-proof housing. Fast and accurate load positioning with True Lift as standard means that the hook moves horizontally at 5mm during a 1m lift. The horizontal travel of the hook during lowering is minimal, which makes rigging of the load safer, while the rope-drum-to-rope diameter ratio is more than double that of conventional designs. Durable adjustment-free and dust-proof high-performance brakes provide safety and reliability.

For special demanding applications the hoists can be equipped with a second brake. To meet specific load-handling capacity and factory-size requirements, CXT cranes are available in single- and double-girder construction with profile or box-girder design. Top connections and underhung main-girder connections are available for different building heights and constructions. Duty classification, speeds, control methods and a range of available additional features are used to tailor the CXT crane to meet exact operational and environmental application requirements.

Demag Installs Cranes At Rainham Steel Warehouse

Demag Cranes and Components has installed two crane systems at Rainham Steel's Scunthorpe distribution centre, as part of the development of a new warehouse facility. To meet sustained expansion, Rainham Steel has developed a 75,000ft2 warehouse facility for the processing and storage of steel beams. To meet the company's materials-handling requirements, Demag installed two double-girder travelling cranes, with spans of 30.8m and 31.5m, both rated at 7 tonnes plus 7 tonnes SWL.

Both cranes are equipped with two Demag DR-Pro wire rope hoists, upon which magnets are mounted. The use of magnets for the lifting process is said to eliminate time-consuming 'slinging' of loads and improves safety by excluding operators from the lifting area. The Demag cranes have long travel speeds of 8-80m/min, cross-travel speeds of 5-25m/min and hoisting speeds of 1-16m/min.

Drive motors feature AC frequency inverters for variable speed, providing smooth movement and precise positioning accuracy in all motions. Operation of the cranes, hoists and magnets is via a user-friendly HBC radio control, which allows the operator to stand clear of the process area.