How to choose a crane for your existing building

Once you decide your company needs new overhead cranes or other lifting devices for an existing facility, your next step is determining the required performance and design specifications. These include lifting capacity, area of hook coverage, travel pattern, span, lift height and required duty cycle of the overhead cranes &#; that is, how many lifts per hour, the average load per lift and the percentage of loads that approach the maximum capacity.

You will get efficient and thoughtful service from Haiheyuan.

Chuck Snook, Director, product sales

You&#;ll also need to consider the design of your building and the load it is made to support. For this, you&#;ll need building plans and the help of a structural engineer. Your building will play a major role in your choice of standard or custom cranes. Hanging a crane from the ceiling will keep floor space as open and uncluttered as possible. But if the ceiling can&#;t bear the added load, you&#;ll have to consider a freestanding crane. 

And with the freestanding option you&#;ll have other considerations to address, such as the floor&#;s capacity to support additional applied loads. Plus, you&#;ll want to design and install the crane so it&#;s as unobtrusive as possible, which will help to enhance safety and productivity.

Consider space for hook coverage and crane structure

No matter the type of crane, you must also consider the &#;envelope&#; involved. That is, the complete three-dimensional area that the crane takes up in your building. This includes the hook coverage area and space occupied by the structure of the crane. Other dimensions to consider include runway rail-to-floor, runway rail-to-lowest overhead obstruction, and rail-to-closest wall obstruction. You&#;ll also need to allow additional space to prevent the operation of the crane from interfering with neighboring production activity.

Keeping all this information in mind, a crane consultant can help you identify the equipment that best matches your lifting needs and building specifications. The consultant will be able to recommend options to increase safety and productivity, such as sway control, collision avoidance and zoning.

Be sure to share with the consultant your long-term material handling requirements &#; not just what will serve you in the near future. For example, overhead cranes, including standard and custom cranes that can grow with your business, can save you money in the long run.

One more important consideration: Don&#;t forget to include your crane operators in the planning process for new overhead cranes. They know the daily challenges of your lifting operations and can offer valuable insight into how to improve safety and productivity.

Looking for a new crane? Check out our Crane Advisor

Overhead cranes, or bridge cranes, serve a wide variety of industries and they are generally designed in four primary configurations. Determining the best set-up for your operations depends on your required capacity, duty class and lifting height, and on whether you&#;re installing the crane in a new or existing building.

Joe Otten, Director Learning and Development  

As you go about determining the types of overhead cranes required for your needs and facility, here&#;s what you should keep in mind.

Are you interested in learning more about Bespoke Cranes? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!

Top running or under running

The two primary configuration options for overhead cranes are top running and under running (also called underhung). On a top-running crane, the end truck rides on top of the runway beam. On an under-running crane, the end truck rides on the lower flange of the runway beam. Each has their advantages.

An underhung crane typically allows much better end approach for the hoist. That is, it allows the hoist to get closer to the end truck or end of the runway than is possible with a top running crane. Underhung cranes tend to be more cost effective than top running cranes. Also, if your operation calls for you to be able to transfer hoists along bridges to interconnected monorails, you need to have an underhung style of overhead crane.

A top-running crane has the advantage of generally being able to lift heavier loads than underhung cranes. Additionally, a top-running crane offers greater headroom than an under-running crane.

Single girder or double girder

The other two configuration options for cranes are single girder or double girder, both of which can be used with either top or under-running overhead cranes.

As you might expect, double-girder cranes support higher capacities, but are more expensive. Additionally, double-girder designs typically allow greater hook height than single-girder designs, as the hoist can be mounted on top of the bridge rather than underneath.

Single-girder cranes, meanwhile, cost less but generally have lower capacities than double-girder cranes. On single-girder cranes, the hoist always rides the bottom of the crane girder in both top-running and underhung configurations. This creates a bigger operating envelope for the hoist and is a solution for applications where headroom is not a limitation.

New or existing building

Another major consideration for determining the most appropriate types of overhead cranes for your operations is whether you&#;re equipping a new or existing building. With an existing building you&#;ll have to work with the available clearances and choose the configuration accordingly. With a new building you have greater flexibility, so long as you involve a crane provider early in the planning process. A crane provider can help you save on building costs by designing a crane that provides the coverage you need, while making the building no higher than necessary to accommodate the crane.

Check out our Crane Advisor to help you choose the right crane for your operations

The company is the world’s best Custom Semi Trailers supplier. We are your one-stop shop for all needs. Our staff are highly-specialized and will help you find the product you need.