Capital Equipment News March 2016

LIFTING

NEW-GENERATION CRANE GIRDER revolutionises load handling in SA

D emag’s newly-launched V-Type crane girder can easily manage more than 500 000 load changes – over double the service life of a con- ventional box-section girder – making it a game changer in the local material han- dling sector. Demag Senior Manager Sales & Marketing Richard Roughley explains that Demag’s V-Type girder, which was launched in early 2016, delivers safety and impressive load handling rates. “Regardless of the mod- el type selected – the V-Type girder can be easily adapted to any building shape, and is the ideal solution both for existing buildings, as well as for new construction projects.” The following Demag V-Type girders are available; • Type 1: The ends of the standard crane girder slope at a 45° angle. The bottom edge of the girder is at the same level as the crane runway, offering sufficient space for loads such as pipes. • Type 2: On the compact version, the bottom edge of the V-Type crane is significantly lower than the crane runway. This variant is particularly suitable for projects that offer limited space. • Type 4: The lower edge of the slightly raised crane girder is located higher than the crane runway, which offers a gain in lifting height, making it suited to applications with considerable space. • Type 5: The girder is significantly raised. Its lower edge is located above the crane runway, which provides for a large range of lifting heights. Type 6: A combination of Types 1 and 2. It can be adapted to suit the available space, since the dimensions above and below the crane rail can be freely selected. The bot- tom edge of the crane girder is below the level of the crane runway. Built with safety in mind, the V-Type gird- er allows 30 percent more light to pass through, enabling personnel to better see their surroundings, while brightening the workspace. This improved view ultimate- ly results in a safer and more attractive working environment. The V-Type girder also has a shorter time cycle, helping to increase productivity and overall output. It boasts several lifting points for safer instal- lation of the load and has more clamping

and attachment points for lamps.

What’s more, the tapered diaphragm joints also replace the solid box-section design of conventional cranes. “Tapered dia- phragm joints accommodate pressure and tensile forces more effectively to reduce resonant frequency by 30 percent. On average, the V-Type crane is 17 percent lighter than comparable cranes that have box-section girders. This not only reduces the forces transmitted to the existing sup- port superstructure and provides archi- tects with greater freedom when planning new building layouts, but also improves the relative deadweight-to-load-capacity ratio,” adds Roughley. The V-Type girder’s energy chain is per- fectly matched to the given V-Type crane variant, and is tailored to meet the specific requirements of indoor and outdoor appli- cations, as well as any payload movements. The energy chain provides improved work- ing clearance below the crane, thereby enabling available space to be used more effectively. It also eliminates the need for many standard components that often re- sult in more maintenance and higher sus- ceptibility to repairs. The V-Type girder features bolted connec- tions for gentler loads on the entire crane system, including the crane runway. Con- sequently, maintenance costs and require- ments are reduced to a minimum. Roughley indicates that absolutely parallel alignment of the machined connecting surfaces forms the basis for secure connections with high-tensile bolts. “The machined and bolted connections and matching

contact surfaces provide optimum align- ment of the components, minimising the rapid wear of travel wheels, the crane run- way and the rails.” The V-Type girder was manufactured using eco-friendly processes, in an effort to re- duce Demag’s footprint and to increase en- vironmental sustainability. “Our eco-friend- ly utilisation of resources is reflected by the use of less material, reduced drive output requirements, blast cleaning of metal parts with dry ice and the use of water-based paints. This manufacturing process ulti- mately results in greener building practices further down the supply chain too,” Rough- ley concludes. b

CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS MARCH 2016 20