In the world of material handling and heavy lifting, gantry cranes are indispensable workhorses. These robust and versatile material handling cranes are commonly found in various industries, ranging from shipping ports and construction sites to warehouses and manufacturing facilities. This blog will serve as a comprehensive guide to help you understand the basics of gantry cranes – their applications, how they work, different types of gantry cranes and their essential features.
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What is a Gantry CraNe Used For?
A gantry crane is a type of overhead crane with supporting legs or wheels that run along tracks or rails on the ground. Unlike traditional overhead cranes that are fixed to the ceiling or structure, gantry cranes provide flexibility and mobility, making them ideal for use in areas where a fixed crane is impractical, including in outdoor worksites, warehouses, manufacturing facilities, and machine shops.
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How Does A Gantry CraNe Work?
Gantry cranes come in various configurations, each designed for specific applications:
- Single Girder Gantry Crane: This type of crane features a single horizontal beam (girder) supported by two A-frame legs. It is commonly used for light to moderate lifting tasks in workshops, warehouses, and assembly lines.
- Double Girder Gantry Crane: With two horizontal girders supported by A-frame legs, this crane offers increased lifting capacity and stability. It is suitable for heavy-duty applications in steel yards, construction sites, and shipyards.
- Rubber-Tired Gantry Crane (RTG): These mobile gantry cranes use rubber tires to move along paved surfaces. They are prevalent in shipping ports and container terminals, allowing efficient container handling.
- Rail-Mounted Gantry Crane (RMG): RMGs run on tracks and are commonly used in intermodal yards and container depots, offering high lifting capacities and precise container positioning.
- Adjustable Height Gantry Crane: An adjustable height gantry crane allows for vertical height adjustments, enabling it to accommodate various load sizes and work in spaces with height restrictions. A knock-down adjustable height gantry can be easily assembled and disassembled, saving space when not in use and allowing easier transport.
Gantry Crane Applications
Gantry cranes are highly versatile and can be used in various applications, from loading and unloading containers in ports to heavy lifting in manufacturing and construction. They offer significant advantages in terms of mobility, allowing them to be deployed at different job sites or positions within a facility, enhancing efficiency and flexibility in material handling operations. Gantry cranes can be used across a wide range of industries, including:
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- Construction: Gantry cranes aid in lifting heavy construction materials, such as steel beams, concrete blocks, and pre-fabricated structures.
- Shipping and Logistics: Gantry cranes are essential in loading and unloading containers from ships and trucks in ports and container yards.
- Manufacturing: They assist in moving and positioning large machinery and equipment in manufacturing plants.
- Railway Maintenance: Gantry cranes are used for railway track maintenance, lifting heavy components like railway sleepers and track sections.
- Aerospace: Gantry cranes are utilized to assemble and maintain aircraft and aerospace components.
Gantry Crane Features and Safety Considerations:
- Lifting Capacity: Consider the maximum weight the gantry crane needs to lift and choose a crane that meets or exceeds that capacity.
- Span and Height: Determine the required span (distance between legs) and lifting height to ensure the crane fits your workspace.
- Safety Features: Look for features like overload protection, emergency stop buttons, and safety limit switches to prevent accidents.
- Regular Maintenance: Proper maintenance is crucial to ensure the gantry crane operates smoothly and safely. Regularly inspect the crane and its components.
- Operator Training: Ensure that only trained and certified operators handle the gantry crane to minimize the risk of accidents.
Summary
One section of my shop is a little over 600 sq ft with a 17' ceiling. As I am starting to do more with steel and have borrowed a friend engine lift to help move things around but this is awkward. I have been looking at a gantry crane like this one. Gantry Crane. I would add a manual chain hoist. I feel I have plenty of room and it sure would be helpful for moving heavy stuff around and unloading stuff from the truck.
I would like to here what other peoples experiences are with gantry cranes
I had a shop built gantry crane in my shop; found it akward to use, mostly used it over a 30" lathe, much better was a 360 degree jib crane that I built under one of the roof trusses and braced with rods with turnbuckles to the two adjacent truss corners, it worked quite well, it had a reach that was nearly right up to the corners of the truss that it was underneath, it pivoted on a plate anchored to the floor with a large tapered roller bearing and a 2" dia. plain bronze bearing at the top.
I have one ,I've used it sparingly, it lacks wheels and I have a tractor with a front end loader and a engine hoist.
A friend has one he uses all the time which has wheels and his shop is over 10.000 square feet, so he has a place to store it. Wheels are nice but it's a two man job and slow. He also has an electric hoist on his.
An electric hoist hoist is very helpful so you aren't moving crane around when pulling on chain hoist to lift load. An electric hoist also allows for separation between you and load in case of failure.
Note, ratings on cranes, etc have changed. It used to be they had to be tested at something greater than rating (maybe 150%), now they only have to prove to hold rated weight. An then there's the whole china quality thing.....
Depending on your situation, an electic forklift might be the right answer, especially the walk behind type. Used examples are often competitive to crane and hoist.
I have that exact gantry crane. I find it to be reasonably well built. I have a CM chainfall hoist. I use it primarily to load and unload a trailer and it is excellent for that purpose. I find it safer to raise the load and then back the trailer under it rather than move the gantry when loaded. I guess it depends on the load.
Robert
I’ve used gantry cranes and they work good for unloading but are cumbersome like samstu said if you are trying to move something. Like he also mentions if it were me and one came up I’d find an electric walk behind forklift. I liked the one we had at my last job better than a regular forklift because it could get in super tight places and pick up a lot. There has be a couple around here for around $1,000 and while that more than the gantry it would take up less space and you can move stuff by yourself which is almost impossible with an gantry even with wheels. YMMV.
I have a Harbor Freight 1-ton with a 2-ton trolley and chain fall. Don't use it a lot but it sure comes in handy when I do! I ran a string over the top beam with no load, then picked up my BP at a touch over a ton. Had maybe 1/8" deflection in the middle. Have had no issues with mine.
Bruce
Note, ratings on cranes, etc have changed. It used to be they had to be tested at something greater than rating (maybe 150%), now they only have to prove to hold rated weight. An then there's the whole china quality thing.....
I have friends that work in lift/crane manufacturing, they say the standards are going up, a much stricter procedures for the certification process.
The one from Northern Tool is supposedly a 4,000 pound rated unit and if you need that much capacity then it's probably the best route.
However, Freight Harbors is a 2,000# rated unit that is a tiny bit wider and much cheaper when you consider the freight charge and the usual 20% coupon. Wider is better for truck/trailer unloading, etc.
They are usually in-stock at local HF stores. (no freight)
Do some shopping and budgeting and see which is right for you.
Similar stuff also often shows up on your local craigslist at good prices.
YMMV
Stu
Thanks everyone for you feedback and Ideas. I have been watching craigslist for awhile and not seen anything that I can use. Usually too big.
I was I liked the lb model because the height adjustment process looked easy and could be done by myself. Also I tend to fall into the "if its worth doing, it worth overdoing" . the one I linked to with freight, trolly, chain hoist and tax would be around $. I'll take a look at the harbor fright model. there is harbor freight outlet just a few miles from my shop.