Nov emb er- Dec em b er 2 013 Industr ialLiftandHoi st .

com

Cranes in
Manufacturing
Overhead Lifting
Technology as a
Production Tool

CRC Canada
Review

Rigging
Power
 BUSINESS ISSUES

Productive
Picking
Overhead cranes used by
equipment manufacturers
are tailored to the specific
requirements of the application.
By Mike Larson Mike Larson is editor of sister publication, Lift and Access. Overhead cranes in factories are vital to efficiency in
manufacturing processes.

As recent installations prove, industrial cranes provide or similar variables can many times be accommodated through only
end users with safe and efficient ways to lift and move materials during minor modifications in the system.
their production and manufacturing processes. ILH’s search for large-scale trends unearthed some interesting
Mike James, vice president and general manager of industrial cranes individual approaches and projects that illustrate how individual
for Konecranes, says that customers’ purchasing trends tend to follow equipment manufacturers have found solutions to their unique needs.
the economy, but depending on an individual customer’s needs and
business cycle, the purchases may lag or precede the economic wave.
“Structures haven’t changed a lot. Controls are where it’s at, Uesco at Oerlikon Fairfield
particularly new smart features,” says James. He adds that factory cranes Oerlikon Fairfield, Lafayette,
often do not have full-time operators anymore, as they did a decade or Ind., manufactures wheel drive
two ago. Today, the crane is often run by someone whose main job is products, planetary gearboxes, and
running a machine tool or doing some other kind of work. individual gears that become vital
“Today, there are many factory crane operators who are relatively components for a wide range of
unskilled simply because operating the crane is not their full-time job,” mobile off-road equipment. The
he says. “The new smart features help improve safety, particularly when larger gearboxes weigh as much as
an unskilled operator is at the controls.” 24,000 lbs., and the individual gears
Some of the smart features include variable frequency drives (VFDs), measure up to 78.7 in. in diameter.
adaptable speed control, anti-sway control, shock-load resistance, auto- The company’s products are used
positioning that can be programmed to perform repetitive tasks, and by well-known manufacturers in a
zone protection that prevents a crane from going into prescribed areas. wide array of equipment, including
Another trend James has noticed among factory crane purchasers aerial lifts, forklifts, cranes, skid
Uesco designed a crane to meet
is that all are looking for better ways to handle material. He says that steer loaders, and other construction space limitations at Oerlikon.
over the past decade, he has seen the emergence of “workstation cranes,” machinery, agricultural equipment,
which typically have capacities of 2 tons or less, with many lifting only locomotives, mining machinery, and
about 200 lbs. James says that there are many suppliers providing this even jack-up barges.
kind of crane. As part of an upgrade to its
Rob Beightol, product marketing manager for Gorbel, concurs that manufacturing process, Oerlikon planned to install a new computerized
customization and productivity features are important in workstation and automated “coordinate measuring machine” to increase production
cranes. “Regarding Gorbel workstation cranes, many companies speed and the company’s capacity for verifying that the locations
appreciate the flexibility of the systems,” he says. Beightol adds that and diameters of holes and gear teeth, as well as the overall diameter,
although Gorbel offers standard systems, its ability to provide an roundness, and other dimensions of gears and other components are
exact configuration to satisfy a specific requirement for a particular job accurate to tolerances as tight as 1/100,000 in.
provides a custom feel. To ensure that the measurements be made under controlled
He also notes that his company’s workstations are easy to modify and conditions for maximum accuracy, the new machine would have to
assemble, so changes in work processes, modifications in plant layouts, operate in a closed room with carefully regulated temperature. So inside

20 Industrial Lift & Hoist industrialliftandhoist.com • November-December 2013

 Manufacturing

of its existing factory, Oerlikon needed to construct a new freestanding Oerlikon’s main challenge in finding the right crane for the job was
building with its own HVAC system to house the measuring machine. getting a machine that had enough height under its bridge to clear the
The desired factory location had space limitations, so the new testing 15'6.5" tall measuring machine, but the top could still stay the OSHA-
building could stand only about 40-ft. long, 15'6" wide, and 17'9" high. required 3 in. below any overhead obstructions.
As part of the project, Oerlikon needed to install a 5-ton rail- Essentially, Oerlikon needed a 5-ton crane with a bridge girder that
mounted overhead crane inside the new testing building to handle gears was 15 ft. long but no more than 23.5-in. deep. In addition, the crane
and other components going to and from the measuring machine. The needed to have precise controls for placing components gently onto the
crane would also help maintain or repair the new measuring machine measuring machine. The strength of the existing factory floor assured
as needed. “We essentially needed to pack 10 lbs. of equipment in a that floor loadings were not an issue.
5-lb. box,” says Anthony Schenck, Oerlikon Fairfield’s facility Many potential suppliers offered proposals, but Oerlikon selected
engineering supervisor. a crane from Uesco Industries Inc., Alsip, Ill., based on the crane’s
Oerlikon specifically wanted an overhead crane to handle material in capabilities, dimensions, bid price, and on Oerlikon’s excellent past
the measuring room so there would be no chance of a forklift bumping working relationship with Uesco and Uesco’s dealer in the area, Cardinal
into the precisely calibrated measuring machine. Integrated Systems, Louisville, Ky.
The material handling process starts with a forklift placing a Uesco’s previous crane projects for Oerlikon included a floor-mounted
component on an air pallet just outside the door to the measuring top-running crane and two bottom-running ceiling-supported cranes.
room. The measuring machine operator then moves the air pallet and Uesco’s crane solution for this job included a top-running, dual-
component into the room, picks up the component with the overhead motor, single-girder crane with an under-running, low-headroom,
crane, and places it on the measuring machine’s approximately 10'x20' monorail hoist. The crane’s runway system includes four vertical columns
granite work table. The machine manufacturer selected granite for its anchored into the floor supporting two 39-ft. long runway beams whose
resistance to wear and its thermal stability. ends are connected by a header beam on each end. The runway system is
The computerized coordinate measuring machine then runs through braced to columns of the existing building.
its program of checks to make sure the component is accurate. When the Ryan Marks, an application specialist and regional sales manager
verification is complete, the component is removed from the machine for Uesco, says that because Uesco designs and manufactures its own
with the crane and taken back outside on an air pallet before a forklift end trucks and the way that the trucks connect to the crane’s bridge
takes it to its next destination. girder, the company was able to provide Oerlikon a crane that had both

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November-December 2013 • industrialliftandhoist.com Industrial Lift & Hoist 21

 BUSINESS ISSUES

the clear height needed beneath the bridge and the overhead clearance measuring machine is anywhere but in home position, the electrical
required by OSHA. system stops the crane from moving closer to the machine.
“Together, the coped ends of the bridge girder, our fixtured Oerlikon’s Schenck says the crane handles components weighing
end-trucks, the end-truck mounting system, and the self-centering up to 7,400 lbs., with the majority of the loads weighing from
tapered wheels provide a square and level wheelbase that helps the 4,000 to 6,000 lbs. “The crane has worked perfectly ever since it was
crane travel straighter and more quietly. It also lets you position loads installed, and it requires almost no maintenance other than an annual
more accurately,” says Marks. He adds that the end-truck design inspection,” he says.
also lets the crane’s bridge girder sit lower on the truck, increasing
overhead clearance. Konecranes
To help keep the crane within the required clearances, Uesco at Railcar Factory
mounted the electrical control panels alongside the vertical section of When a major maker of
the crane’s bridge girder so that they don’t add any height or depth to railroad equipment ordered
the crane. To simplify maintenance and troubleshooting, the controls two 60-ton capacity double
use readily available components and color-coded wiring. girder, top-running CXT
Marks says Uesco selected VFD controls on the bridge and trolley, cranes from Konecranes
as well as an R&M hoist with two-speed control to meet the Oerlikon’s for its manufacturing
operating-speed and controllability requirements. The crane runs on operation, the operations
460V, three-phase electricity supplied from the factory’s electrical system. staff planned to use the
The crane, hoist, and runway system took just three days to install. two cranes independently
The girder clears the coordinate measuring machine when the on the same runway. Two new overhead cranes and a dual control
machine is in home position, but the trolley needs to be positioned at About a month before system helped a railcar manufacturer improve both
one end of the girder to pass. If the measuring machine is not in home Konecranes delivered the lifting capacity and safety.
position, the crane’s bridge girder could hit it. two cranes, however, the
To prevent potential collisions, a simple relay switch was mounted train manufacturer realized
on one of the runway beams. If the crane passes the switch when the it would need both new cranes working together in order to safely lift
and move the 120-ft. long train car frames during production. To meet
that need, the train manufacturer wanted to change to dual operator
radio controls that would let one operator run both cranes in unison.
Konecranes made the upgrade and still delivered the cranes on the original
Crane & Rigging installation schedule.
When the train factory installed two automated welding machines
Inspections to speed up frame fabrication, the new machines blocked the view of
on youR iPad! crane operators who moved the long train car frames with the dual-
crane arrangement. When the cranes reached a point that the machines
Contact us today hid the load from the operator’s view, the crane operator had to stop
about our free iPad / the crane and walk around the welding machines before continuing
smartphone app. the move. During that 45-second walk around the welders, the crane
operator could not see the suspended load.
To solve the problem, Konecranes suggested installing its “pitch and
Scan ultra-durable catch” dual remote control system, which lets one crane operator start a
RFID with your NFC move, then signal another operator with a second controller to take over
smartphone. and finish. The system increases safety by always keeping the suspended
load under the control of a crane operator who can see it.
Andrew Grooms, a Konecranes service manager who was involved in
the installation of the cranes, installation of the pitch and catch controls,
and training of the operators, says that the system has been running very
well 24/7 for three years.
At another location in the same factory, the train company was
thinking of replacing two old 300-ton overhead cranes that had been
Join the revolution! in the plant when it had purchased the facility. Grooms says that the
two cranes were structurally solid, so Konecranes was able to save the
customer significant cost by reusing the structural components while
upgrading to all-new AC drives, inverters, radio controls, and other
operating and control components.
Grooms says overhead crane modernization is a trend now, with
www.infochip.com [email protected] many users looking to improve safety and productivity.
1-877-747-2448

22 Industrial Lift & Hoist industrialliftandhoist.com • November-December 2013