HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

An overhead crane, commonly called a bridge crane, is a type of crane found in industrial environments. An overhead crane consists of two parallel rails seated on longitudinal
I-beam An I-beam, also known as H-beam (for universal column, UC), w-beam (for "wide flange"), universal beam (UB), rolled steel joist (RSJ), or double-T (especially in Polish, Bulgarian, Spanish, Italian and German), is a beam with an or -shap ...
s attached to opposite steel
column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression (physical), compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column i ...
s by means of
bracket A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. Typically deployed in symmetric pairs, an individual bracket may be identified as a 'left' or 'r ...
s. The traveling bridge spans the gap. A
hoist Hoist may refer to: * Hoist (device), a machine for lifting loads * Hoist controller, a machine for raising and lowering goods or personnel by means of a cable * Hydraulic hooklift hoist, another machine * Hoist (mining), another machine * Hoist ( ...
, the lifting component of a crane, travels along the bridge. If the bridge is rigidly supported on two or more legs running on two fixed rails at ground level, the crane is called a gantry crane (USA, ASME B30 series) or a ''goliath crane'' (UK, BS 466). Unlike mobile or construction cranes, overhead cranes are typically used for either manufacturing or maintenance applications, where efficiency or downtime are critical factors.


History

In 1876 Sampson Moore in England designed and supplied the first ever electric overhead crane, which was used to hoist guns at the
Royal Arsenal The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich is an establishment on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London, England, that was used for the manufacture of armaments and ammunition, proofing, and explosives research for the Britis ...
in Woolwich, London. Since that time Alliance Machine, now defunct, holds an AISE citation for one of the earliest cranes in the USA market. This crane was in service until approximately 1980, and is now in a museum in
Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% f ...
. Over the years important innovations, such as the Weston load brake (which is now rare) and the wire rope hoist (which is still popular), have come and gone. The original hoist contained components mated together in what is now called the built-up style hoist. These built up hoists are used for heavy-duty applications such as steel coil handling and for users desiring long life and better durability. They also provide for easier maintenance. Now many hoists are package hoists, built as one unit in a single housing, generally designed for ten-year life, but the life calculation is based on an industry standard when calculating actual life. See the Hoists Manufacturers Institute site for true life calculation, which is based on load and hours used. In today's modern world for the North American market, there are a few governing bodies for the industry. The Overhead Alliance is a group that represents Crane Manufacturers Association of America, Hoist Manufacturers Institute, and Monorail Manufacturers Association. These product counsels of the Material Handling Industry of America have joined forces to create promotional materials to raise the awareness of the benefits of overhead lifting. The members of this group are marketing representatives of the member companies.


Early manufacture

* 1830: First Crane company in Germany, Ludwig Stuckenholz company. * 1840:
Mass production Mass production, also known as flow production or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines. Together with job production and ba ...
of overhead cranes starts in Germany. * 1854: Sampson Moore & Co in
Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
, England patents a new
winch A winch is a mechanical device that is used to pull in (wind up) or let out (wind out) or otherwise adjust the tension of a rope or wire rope (also called "cable" or "wire cable"). In its simplest form, it consists of a spool (or drum) attach ...
mechanism that allowed the lifting of heavier weights (such as naval guns) by an
electric motor An electric motor is an electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a wire winding to generate f ...
. * 1861: The first
steam powered A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be tr ...
overhead crane is installed by John Ramsbottom at the Crewe Railway workshops. Power was transmitted to the crane from a
pulley A pulley is a wheel on an axle or shaft that is designed to support movement and change of direction of a taut cable or belt, or transfer of power between the shaft and cable or belt. In the case of a pulley supported by a frame or shell that ...
driven by a stationary engine through an endless cotton rope. * 1887: The Ludwig Stuckenholz company introduces electrical components to overhead cranes, determining industry design. * 1910: The first mass-produced electric motor hoist starts in Germany. Configurations: While sharing major components, overhead cranes are manufactured in a number of configurations based on applications.


EOT (Electric Overhead Traveling) Crane

EOT cranes are a common type of overhead crane. They are found in many factories and warehouses. These cranes are electrically operated by a control pendant, radio/IR remote pendant, or from an operator cabin attached to the crane. File:Woman driving 20 ton O.E.T. crane (15402565322).jpg, A woman operating a 20-ton OET crane, 1914 File:Submarí Ictineu 3 col·locat sota un pont grua.JPG, An EOT overhead crane is used to move and build this
submersible A submersible is a small watercraft designed to operate underwater. The term "submersible" is often used to differentiate from other underwater vessels known as submarines, in that a submarine is a fully self-sufficient craft, capable of i ...
, the ''Ictineu 3'', in a
warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of citie ...
of Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Spain.


Rotary overhead crane

This type of overhead crane has one end of the bridge mounted on a fixed pivot and the other end carried on an annular track; the bridge traverses the circular area beneath. This offers improvement over a jib crane by making possible a longer reach and eliminating lateral strains on the building walls.


Applications

Overhead cranes are commonly used in the refinement of steel and other metals, such as copper and aluminium. At every step of the manufacturing process, until it leaves a factory as a finished product, metal is handled by an overhead crane. Raw materials are poured into a furnace by crane, hot metal is then rolled to specific thickness and tempered or annealed, and then stored by an overhead crane for cooling, the finished coils are lifted and loaded onto trucks and trains by overhead crane, and the fabricator or stamper uses an overhead crane to handle the steel in his factory. The
automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded ...
industry uses overhead cranes to handle raw materials. Smaller
workstation A workstation is a special computer designed for technical or scientific applications. Intended primarily to be used by a single user, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating systems. The term ''workst ...
cranes, such as jib or gantry cranes, handle lighter loads in a work area, such as CNC mill or saw. Almost all paper mills use bridge cranes for regular maintenance, needing removal of heavy press rolls and other equipment. The bridge cranes are used in the initial construction of paper machines because they make it easier to install the heavy cast iron paper drying drums and other massive equipment, some weighing as much as 70 tons. In many instances, the cost of a bridge crane can be largely offset with savings from not renting mobile cranes in the construction of a facility that uses a lot of heavy process equipment.


Gallery

File:Bridge Crane with Wire Rope Hoist.jpg, Overhead crane and
hoist Hoist may refer to: * Hoist (device), a machine for lifting loads * Hoist controller, a machine for raising and lowering goods or personnel by means of a cable * Hydraulic hooklift hoist, another machine * Hoist (mining), another machine * Hoist ( ...
mounted on a trolley that can be moved across the bridge beam File:RvancoppSteamCrane1262010.jpg, alt=Example of steam powered overhead crane from 1875, produced by Stuckenholz AG, Wetter an der Ruhr, Germany. Design developed by Rudolf Bredt from an original installation at Crewe railway works, Example of steam powered overhead crane from 1875, produced by Stuckenholz AG, Wetter, Germany. Design developed by Rudolf Bredt from an original installation at Crewe railway works File:Rotary foundry crane.jpg, alt=Rotary overhead crane installed in a foundry, ca. 1880, Rotary overhead crane installed in a
foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...
, File:Steam travelling crane.png, alt=Steam-powered overhead crane from ca. 1890. Three separate, two-cylinder engines provided transverse, longitudinal, and hoisting motion; a feature of the design was the ability to raise or lower the load while in transit., Steam-powered overhead crane from . Three separate, two-cylinder engines provided transverse, longitudinal, and hoisting motion; a feature of the design was the ability to raise or lower the load while in transit. File:STS-129 ExPRESS Logistics Carrier 13.jpg, One of two overhead cranes hoisting a space shuttle payload in the Space Station Processing Facility


See also

*
Container crane A container crane (also container handling gantry crane or ship-to-shore crane) is a type of large dockside gantry crane found at container terminals for loading and unloading intermodal containers from container ships. Container cranes consis ...
* Crane (railroad) * Gantry crane *
EOT crane Electric overhead traveling cranes or EOT cranes are a common type of overhead crane, also called bridge cranes. They consist of parallel runways, much akin to rails of a railroad, with a traveling bridge spanning the gap. EOT cranes are specifical ...


References


Standards

* ASME B30.2: "Overhead and Gantry Cranes (Top Running Bridge, Single or Multiple Girder, Top Running Trolley Hoist)" * ASME B30.17: "Overhead and Gantry Cranes (Top Running Bridge, Single Girder, Underhung Hoist)" * ASME B30.11: "Monorails and Underhung Cranes" * BS 466: "Specification for Power driven overhead travelling cranes, semi-goliath and goliath cranes for general use" (1984) * ISO 4301-5: "Cranes; classification; part 5: overhead travelling and portal bridge cranes" (1991) * ISO 8686-5: "Cranes; design principles for loads and load combinations; part 5: overhead travelling and portal bridge cranes" (1992) * Indian Standard - 807 * Indian Standard - 3177 * Indian Standard -4137 * FEM 1.001: "Rules for the Design of Hoisting Appliances"


External links


OSHA Regs for overhead cranes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Overhead Crane Lifting equipment Cranes (machines)