Raised Bridge Ends

When we talk about hook height, we are talking about the elevation at which the hoist hooks to the trolley on the bridge. LET ME REPEAT THIS - THE HOOK HEIGHT IS THE ELEVATION AT WHICH THE HOIST HOOKS TO THE TROLLEY IN THE BRIDGE.

In most crane applications the hook height is extremely important. Hook height is extremely important because people want to have the ability to lift something as high as they need to. They might want to lift something 20ft into the air, or they might want to lift something 3ft into the air. It all depends on the application. But one thing still remains certain - people want the highest hook height they can get.

This is where there is a conflict. See, 95% of our customers (roughly 1 million) install cranes inside a warehouse, shop, what-have-you. The problem is simple: The roof sometimes does not allow them to reach the hook height that they want with a normal system. This is when we go above and beyond (no pun intended).

When the roof is low and a high hook height is needed, we offer a solution called raised bridge ends. Raised bridge ends do exactly what it says - it raises the bridge ends so that the bridge is in the same plane as the runway. I'll just show you a picture... So there you have it, our solution when you need to achieve the highest hook height.

read more at: http://kundelcranes.wordpress.com/2011/10/04/raised-bridge-ends/

Bays and Multiple Bridges

Systems can utilize multiple bridges. The systems just have to have a capacity rating high enough to accommodate the weight if both bridges we MAX loaded. This is where it gets a little complicated.

If you want the two bridges to be able to travel in the same bay, the bay must be rated to accommodate both bridges MAX loaded.

If you have multiple bridges, however, and stop the bridges from entering the same bay together (In other words, you will never have a bay with more than one bridge in it), each bridge can be rated at 6,000lbs (if we follow the two above examples). Bridges can be stopped from entering bays by installing what's called "runstops" inside the runway. Runstops prevent bridges from traveling any further.

see pictures at http://ping.fm/Ilxad

Crane Terminology

Overhead Workstation Crane Terminology

Runway - The crane runway (in a way) is like talking about the length of a system. If someone asks "What size runway?" they are asking "What is the overall length of your system?" The crane runway provides a runway for the wheels on the bridge... but we'll get to that.

Bridge - The bridge is like the width of a system. When someone asks for a bridge length, they are asking "What is the width of your system?" Attached to the top bridge are wheels that run inside the runway sections.

Hoist - The hoist (has wheels) runs inside the bridge. In the most simplest terms, the hoist acts as your "picker uper" and picks things up (or hoists things up).

[Quick recap, the hoist runs inside the bridge and travels the width of the system, the bridge is attached to the runway and travels the lenght of the system]

Trolley/Endtrucks - The top of a trolley includes wheels that ride inside a bridge section. The bottom of a trolley hooks to the hoist. The top of an entruck includes wheels that ride inside a runway section. The bottom of an endtruck attaches the the bridge. Just remember: runways are to endtrucks as bridges are to trolleys.

P.S. Thought that it would be essential that we first establish some crane terminology - Geeze! It wasn't like there was a bibles length worth of terms.

Kundel Crane Qualification Sheet

Here are some basic questions/qualifications to ask yourself or the customer before quoting a overhead workstation crane. My next few posts will outline the importance of each qualification, and give examples of how we can attack different applications. Check back!

Crane Qualifications (Click on a qualification to see a preview)

CAPACITY ______
CEILING OR FLOOR _______
CEILING HEIGHT OR MAX HEIGHT _______
ANY OBSTRUCTIONS _______
BRIDGE LENGHT_______
NUMBER OF BRIDGES _______
RUNWAY LENGTH _______

OPTIONS: (check if applicable)
INTERNAL ELECTRIC _______
LOW HEADROOM RAISED BRIDGE _______
MOTORIZATION _______