Up high with efficient crane drives

Whether handling goods in the port or moving materials on construction sites: Cranes are indispensable wherever heavy loads have to be moved efficiently and precisely into place. The prerequisite for the smooth movement of a crane is the safe operation of the different axes. This and more is made possible by the system solutions from KEB Automation.

They are “tools ” of superlatives: cranes. Their performance features and dimensions are as relevant as they are impressive in use. For example, the worlds largest crane, which can lift around 5,000 tonnes at its peak, is almost three times the size of the Statue of Liberty in New York, with a height of up to 250 metres. The diverse movements that cranes have to perform reliably place high demands on the installed drive technology as well as the integrated control system. 

“We offer the right automation solution for many of a crane's central motion functions. Typically, our frequency inverters such as the COMBIVERT F6 and S6 are used in the slewing and hoisting gear or also in the drive of the trolley,” says Frank Weber, application engineer at KEB. “Our solutions are available for different cranes – from tower cranes and luffing cranes to gantry and bridge cranes.”                  

                   
Encoderless positioning of travel and positioning profiles

If one takes a closer look at the function of, for example, a trolley travelling along the girder, the requirements that this places on the drive solution quickly become clear: dynamic travel behaviour and the exact approach of positions at different speeds are essential tasks that the drive controllers from KEB perform in this case. Here, among other things, solutions without encoders are possible with the modern ASCL technology, which is integrated in the drive controllers such as the F6 (from 7.5 kW) or the S6 (from 0.75 to 7.5 kW). ASCL (Asynchronous Sensorless Closed Loop) enables the traversing of travel and positioning profiles.

The hoist of a crane also needs a drive that controls highly dynamic movements and also ensures a good level of power and precision. KEB offers the drive controllers suitable for this purpose, which also have an integrated safety function. Different speed profiles are permanently required in active crane operation and can be realised in a wide range via the F6 or S6. In addition, adapted functions and libraries are available for the respective drive tasks. This applies not least to the crane's slewing gear, which requires smooth execution of slewing motions in particular. 

However, not only the control of precise movements, but also the fast and simple connection, especially in remote locations or on construction sites, play an important role in KEB's crane solutions, application engineer Isa Ethem Demirkol knows: “With our C6 Router solution, we enable secure and practical remote access to the relevant equipment. Users thus keep the functional parameters of the drive controllers, the control system or a visualisation environment under control at all times. Thanks to flexible interfaces, existing machines can also be easily retrofitted.”