Overhead cranes are typically used to move extremely heavy and awkward items from one place to another. The weight capacity of overhead cranes can range from 2 to 3 tons to 500 tons or more. Some of the most common types of overhead cranes include overhead bridge cranes, workstation cranes, manipulators, monorails, jib cranes, gantry systems and many more.
With so many individual manufacturing needs, overhead cranes have become an indispensible tool for many different industries. In fact a large number of industries utilize overhead cranes for a number of different applications. These industries include:
- Steel Mills
- Petroleum Production
- The Automotive Industry
- The Construction Industry
- Power Plants
- The Aerospace Industry
- The Pharmaceutical Industry
- The Railroad Industry
- Appliance Industries
- Woodworking Industries
In the 1950s and 1960s, as technology progressed, especially in the field of electronics, industries were being pressured to increase production while still employing the same amount of floor space. Equipment that could move materials overhead offered several advantages over their competitors in the broadly defined materials handling industry. Today, overhead cranes are still utilized in work environments that are unable to accommodate a floor conveyor, or that have limited floor space.
There are several different types of overhead cranes, all of which serve different purposes. An overhead bridge crane runs on an elevated runway system and provides three axes of hook motion. A gantry crane is similar to a bridge crane except it runs on a track at floor level. The bridge carries the hoist and trolley and is supported by a pair of rigid steel legs which are carried by a pair of end trucks along the floor level runway. A jib crane consists of a pivoting head and boom assembly which carries a hoist and trolley unit. The pivoting head is supported by a floor-mounted mast that provides 360 degrees of boom rotation or by an existing building column which provides 180 degrees of boom rotation. A monorail is specialized equipment that can be extremely effective when properly designed. Only two directions of hook travel are afforded by the monorail; either up and down or along the axis of the monorail beam.
Many different industries can benefit from using overhead equipment for a number of different applications. When properly used, overhead equipment can increase the speed at which things get accomplished, help workers safely transport heavy objects and improve a company’s overall efficiency. Bay Industrial Group offers extensive knowledge and experience on all types of overhead equipment and systems. They work directly with your company to design overhead solutions that fit your specific industry’s needs. For more information please contact Bay Industrial Group today.