Speed and efficiency key to new crane system
September 1st 2005

Two process cranes from Demag Cranes & Components’ BulkMaster range have been installed at Castle Cement’s North Wales production facility. The installation is part of a new kiln that has increased production capacity by 50%.

The fully automatic 23t SWL, 25m span cranes each incorporate an open frame winch with a bucket to move up to 15t of material per lift.

Speed and efficiency have been the driving factors in the development of the crane systems.

They have a travel speed of 150m/min and a hoisting speed of up to 85m/min, providing each crane with the capacity to move 275t of material per hour.

They have frequency inverters to ensure smooth movement, while absolute encoder technology on the rails provides positioning accuracy to the nearest millimetre.

The crane systems are programmed and monitored from an operations room via a radio ethernet remote control. The crane incorporates ISDN modem links to Demag’s central facility, permitting remote monitoring, diagnostics and software uplinks.

When unloading material, the crane ‘remembers’ the height of the last load and gently deposits the next full grab on the heap, minimising dust created.

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