crawler crane Archives | Page 8 of 11

Pressing issue solved by Terex Superlift

Three press components each weighing at least 200t have been lifted out of a factory in Germany using a 650t Terex Superlift 3800 lattice boom crawler crane.

Crane company Viktor Baumann employed the crane to lift two 270t components and one 200t components from an SGL Carbon facility in Bonn, at a working radius of 26m.

The Terex crane was assembled by a team of five at the SGL premises, using a 220t assist crane. It was set up with an SSL configuration, a heavy 48m main boom, and a 36m SL mast. 165t of counterweight was used on the crane’s superstructure, with 320t on the SL counterweight tray.

Sennebogen helps to build bridges in Russia

A Sennebogen 7700 crawler crane has been used to construct an 800m-long motorway bridge in Russia.
The 300t crane was delivered by LLC Lonmadi Saint Petersburg, Sennebogen’s sales and service partner for Russia, to construction company BaltMostStroy in the second half of 2013.

The job included lifting prefabricated steel parts weighing up to 100t onto the concrete foundations of the bridge, which is part of the new A121 motorway being constructed between St Petersburg and Priosersk-Sortavala.

The Sennebogen 7700, which features a 41m boom and auxiliary jib, was required to navigate hilly terrain while lifting the parts perfectly horizontally, and accurate alignment was necessary to securely place the chains and straps. Stability was provided by the 135t ballast and 8m-wide crawler undercarriage of the crane, while lifting was driven by a 313kW Caterpillar diesel engine with two 220kN winches.

Manoeuvrability of the crane is improved by the compact upper carriage, which is the largest component of the 7700 and has a transport width of 3m. The boom sections, which feature a self-assembly system for quick set-up, and the Starlifter undercarriage have a maximum width of 2.43m, making transportation easier.

Zoomlion installs wind turbines in Iran

An 800t Zoomlion QUY800 crawler crane has been used to install turbines on a wind farm in Takistan, Iran.

The crawler, with a 108m jib and 7m extension, is being used on the Kahak Wind Farm, which is being built to ease the pressure on the power supply in Tehran.

The crane is installing wind turbine towers, rotors, blades and housings. The top section of the towers weigh more than 30t, with the turbines almost 100m high and weighing 350t.

Kahak Wind Farm is situated on a plateau to benefit from the windy conditions, but this also makes installation more complex, as the top housing has to be installed within a certain period of time to prevent the wind causing the tower to tilt and bend.

The high altitude, strong winds and heavy lifting mass means the average installation time for each turbine has been over a month. So far 10 turbines have been successfully installed.

Liebherr crawler reaches new heights

A Liebherr LTR 1220 telescopic crawler crane is operating at an altitude of almost 5,000m in the Peruvian Andes.

The 220t LTR 1220, which Liebherr claims is the first crane of this type in Latin America, has been working at the Antamina copper-zinc mine, Mining equipment specialist Joy Global Peru SAC has the crane on long term hire from crane owner Gruas Alquileres SA.

The unit has been working in difficult conditions, including extreme temperature fluctuations. Its main work is unloading the components of two electrical mining excavators and assembling them, The mine is one of the ten largest in the world, with 24/7 operations and around 430,000 tonnes of material extracted every day.

CRC in underwater crane rescue

A Manitowoc crane that slipped off a bank into 70ft of water has been successfully rescued by Florida-based Crane Rental Corporation (CRC) in a tandem lift.

CRC used a Manitowoc 2250 crawler crane with MAX-ER attachment (500t capacity) and a 600t Terex AC 500-2 hydraulic truck crane to lift the submerged Manitowoc 4600 dragline. The total weight lifted was 484,000 pounds.

CRC had to supply pre-lift plans and submit them to the Mining Safety and Health Administration for approval. It also supplied a lift director, skilled riggers and certified crane operators for the job.

The company has performed nearly a dozen recoveries after similar accidents and has engineered specialised rigging for such projects.

Engineers assessed the machine and had to predict the components’ stored energy before divers cut the boom, mast and heavy-duty wire rope. Underwater cameras and communications were essential as the divers’ exposure had to be limited at the depth.

USITC judge upholds Manitowoc complaint against Sany

A USITC has issued a final initial determination in Manitowoc’s complaint against Sany, saying that the American crane manufacturer has shown certain products infringe its patents, and that they have shown misappropriation of trade secrets.

The case relates to the two companies’ competing floating counterweight systems. Manitowoc claims that Sany’s system used on its SCC8500 infringes on a patent, US 7,546,928, relating to a mobile lift crane with variable position counterweight. The system was implemented by Manitowoc on its Model 31000, and later on its MLC300 and MLC650 cranes launched at ConExpo.

The full decision has not yet been made public, but a notice promises it will within 30 days. The current notice explains that the administrative law judge has issued a final initial determination on whether there was a violation, and a recommended determination on the remedy that may be appropriate in the event that the USITC finds that there was a violation.

The administrative law judge’s determination is subject to appeal by the federal appeals court. USITC determinations do not result in money damages. Instead, complainants can make a parallel claim in a district court, which Manitowoc is doing in Wisconsin. That case will resume on 23 July.