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.
