If you are looking to buy and install an overhead crane for steel handling, you face a number of unique challenges. After all, steel making and steel warehousing present unique operational challenges around weight and temperature. Not all overhead cranes are up to the task.
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When choosing an overhead crane for steel handling, you must consider safety, reliability and efficiency. Here are the top questions you must ask so that you choose the crane that is right for you.
Your first consideration is the capacity of your crane. Regardless of whether you are lifting steel coils, structural tubing, steel plates or something else, you need a crane that will handle the weight of your loads.
Overhead cranes are designed and engineered to lift weights that range from 500 kg to as much as 400 tons. Your goal is to select the crane that best matches your needs of today and your anticipated needs of tomorrow. You don’t want to buy less crane than you need—or more crane than you need.
All overhead cranes are classified according to loads and cycles. The classification governs the intensity of the loads and the number of cycles the crane completes during a given period of time.
In the United States, there are six classifications:
Overhead cranes are a combination of crane structure and lifting mechanism (hoist).
Hoists are used for lifting, cross travel and long travel. They come in under-running, top-running, foot-mount and built-up designs. End trucks are available in top running, top running bogey and underhung types.
Your goal is to choose the crane structure and hoist combination that reduces hook approaches and maximizes the useful area of your facility.
Lifting and moving steel with overhead cranes is a dangerous business that requires specialty hook attachments. If you use the wrong attachments on your cranes, you take the risk that the load will shift and fall during operation. This endangers your workers and risks halting production.
There are multiple specialty hook attachments used in steel handling, each one designed to lift and move a particular type of steel.
The final question you need to ask is about the company behind the crane. Does that company manufacture cranes, or does it instead offer complete lifting solutions?
For example, does the manufacturer:
As you can see, there are several questions you must answer if you are to select the right steel-handling overhead crane for your unique operation.
At GH Cranes & Components, we offer a wide range of standard and custom overhead cranes, hoists transfer cars and crane components for steel handling. Our products are up and running in steel mills, electric arc furnaces and rolling mills on five continents. Whether your facility produces large molten steel pieces or rolled steel, we have a crane for every stage of your production.
We design and manufacture our process cranes and hoists with input from iron and steel engineers. Their input has resulted in our cranes and hoists offering standard features that improve productivity, increase production, boost efficiency, and enhance safety.
Cranes are different from other pieces of construction equipment because – at their most basic function – they do not require other machinery or power to function. The bulldozer, excavator, or tractor required some form of power – whether it be steam or gas, or oil. Much modern construction equipment dates back to some time in the s. Not the crane. The crane is the grandfather of all construction equipment.
A crane is a machine that is used to lift and move heavy loads, machines, materials, and goods for a variety of purposes. They are used in all different sectors of industry, from construction to manufacturing to shipbuilding and material loading. Cranes are common along skylines as they are necessary to build the skyscrapers we so often see in our cities today.
The boom is the most recognizable part of a crane. The boom is a long arm that can either be telescopic or fixed. They take on a variety of roles depending on the type of crane and how it is built. They are able to work without jibs and are sometimes the main component on a crane.
The jib of a crane is the lattice-type structure attached to the end of the boom. Using a lattice-type build helps to reduce the weight it adds to the front of the boom. It is fixed in length and cannot be extended or retracted like a boom can. Some versions of mobile cranes have a jib fixed to the end of the boom to help move and lift materials.
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The jib or jib arm has one main purpose: to help keep the material clear of the main support so that it doesn’t hit it while being moved.
That being said, jibs are not always required and are often looked at as extra pieces that can be used when needed.
The name “counterweight” pretty much describes their purpose: to counter the weight on the front of the crane while lifting material to prevent tipping. They help add stability to the machine and generally increase stability.
Many cranes have adjustable counterweights so that they fit the specific requirements of a load or job. On tower cranes, for example, the counterweight can be seen at the other end of the jib.
Outriggers may be one of the most important factors for crane safety. The function of an outrigger is to supply additional support. The purpose of an outrigger is to distribute the load of the crane over a large enough area so that the crane itself doesn’t tip over or become unstable. All outriggers should either meet or exceed the weight requirements of a crane or job.
Outriggers do not compensate for unstable land. OSHA requires cranes to be assembled on firm ground that is drained and graded sufficiently. Supporting outriggers are meant to be used in conjunction with proper ground standards and do not make up for unstable ground.
Finally, the crane must have some way for materials to be attached to it. The most typical way this is done is through a hook. The lifting hook on cranes is usually equipped with a safety latch to prevent the material from slipping off the hook in transit.
Crane lifting hooks are often made of steel or wrought iron. Hooks for heavy-duty cranes and loads are usually heat-treated and forged in order to make the hook as strong as possible.
Whatever the date was, it’s clear that the idea of using a machine to lift, move, and place building materials came way earlier than you may think. Unlike many other ancient civilizations that used manual labour or ramps to move equipment, the use of a mechanism to simplify the task speaks to the mindset of the Greeks. After all, they are also responsible for geometry, the alarm clock, the lighthouse, democracy, and even central heating.
According to architectural historian Allessandro Pierattini from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, “no previous civilizations are known to have used it, and it has remained central to building construction without remarkable changes for nearly 25 centuries – because it was perfect.”
It could be argued that the use of lifting tongs and Lewis irons doesn’t equate to a crane but the makeup of their machine with the cranes we know today really aren’t that different.
The use of a simple pulley system transitioned into being man or animal-powered to provide some extra strength. In turn, this turned into a manpower treadwheel which allows for the cranes to lift heavier objects.
By the Middle Ages, the crane was adapted to help load and unload ships at docks as well as assist in construction. Since the cranes on docs would be more fixed, many were built into stone towers or larger wooden structures. At this time, the crane itself was still most often made of wood.
The name speaks for itself! Mobile cranes are one of the most basic types to see in construction. Fitted with a steel truss or telescopic boom mounted to a platform, this type of crane can be moved to, from, and around a site as needed. The platform in question could be wheeled, on a rail, or even fitted to a truck if needed.
Mobile cranes are often used for general construction and roofing. They are powerful enough to move materials and equipment while being less permanent than a tower crane.
Crane operation safety is unique to other pieces of equipment because the machine itself isn’t moving. With tractors, dozers, and backhoes, the machine moves around, driving around people, and carrying equipment with a driver responsible for checking all blind spots and using proper signals.
With cranes, the operator is in a fixed position and it is the material itself that is moving. Safe operations of and around cranes depend just as much on the operator as it does on those on the ground. While the operator needs to use best practices for lifting and moving materials, contractors should stay a safe distance away from the loads, heed the warning about moving materials, and communicate property with the operator.
Cranes have been working alongside humans for over 2,500 years to build cities and neighborhoods. The ability to lift heavy materials and equipment has allowed us to build buildings that reach the skies.
The next time you see a crane or work alongside one, take a moment to appreciate the history behind it and the unique connection that this machine gives us to builders of the past.
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