Fixed Material Handling Equipment & Types Of Cranes

In this article, I will share with you different fixed material handling equipment.

Fixed material handling equipment has a wide application. They are used in industries, building construction, projects and supply.

This equipment is used when it comes to handling materials that are too heavy and can’t be handled with the normal gravity conveyors or mobile material handling equipment.

The fixed material handling equipment is used for lifting heavier loads and placing them in the desired place.

They are of different designs, and they also operate differently.

Types of cranes used in fixed material handling

1. Derrick.

This crane is operated by a diesel or electric motor.

Most derricks have at least two components, either a guyed mast or self-supporting towers.

The basic type of derrick is controlled by three or four lines connected to the top mast. This is to allow both to move laterally and cant up and down.

These movements are what aid in the lifting capability of the derrick.

For the derrick to lift a load, a separate line runs up and over the mast with a hook on its free end.

This hook is hooked with the load it’s supposed to carry and moves it to the desired place by rotating with is aided by the slewing ring.

Derrick consists of the following parts;

Mast.

Jib (boom).
Slewing ring.
Guy.

Guys: these are the supporting members of the crane.

Jib (boom): this is the structure of the derrick to which the hook is attached and it’s the part that moves up and down with the help of guys.

Slewing ring: it’s based at the bottom of the crane. Its main function is to facilitate the rotation of the jib.

Mast: this is the main pole that the guys are attached to and it supports the boom.

These are the different types of derrick;

A-frame derrick.
Basket derrick.

Breast derrick.
Chicago boom derrick.
Gin pole derrick.

Guy derrick.
Guy derrick with a non-rotatable mast.
Stiffleg derrick.

Scotch derrick.

It’s kinda similar to the guy derrick except that it has a stabilization by lattice members which are guys and stays.

The stay is usually connected from the horizontal braze which is a distance from the base of the mast and it forms a triangulation with the mast.

The scotch derrick is capable of slewing 270⁰with the aid of slewing ring.

The only component that is added in the scotch derrick is the stay and the horizontal braze.

A line from that run over the mast connected to the jib is used to support the jib and lower the hook when it’s needed.

Overhead Cranes

In this section I will discuss these three types of overhead cranes;

Gantry crane.
Travelling bridge crane (Goliath).

Self-supporting tower crane.

1. Gantry crane.

A Gantry crane is suspended over two walls and a bridge runs from one end of the wall to the other end which is supported on elevated tracks and a supporting lifting block or hoist trolley.

Above the bridge, there is a hoist that is attached to a hook that is supposed to lift the load.

The hoist moves along the bridge carrying the load from one end to another with the help of the power control unit.

A Gantry crane is used to handle the load over a long rectangular area in the factory or a building construction site.

The hoist consists of a motor, gearbox and suitable coupling. They are connected to the hoisting drum having helical grooves for guiding wire rope.

There is a braking system that is incorporated within the system of the hoist to prevent accidents by releasing the hoist when the power is on and gripping the hoist when the power is off

2. Travelling bridge crane (Goliath).

It consists of a bridge that has two main girders which are fixed at the end supported on wheels that can move on tracks (rail) on the flow.

On the top of the bridge, there is a hoist that moves along it which has a hook to carry the loads from one end of the bridge to the other.

Since the whole travelling bridge crane can move on the flow this enables it to cover a wide area when handling the material.

3. Self-supporting tower crane.

It has a great lifting capacity compared to the other cranes I have discussed in this article.

This is made possible because the mast is firmly anchored on the ground level to a concrete base with holding down bolts.

The self-supporting tower crane is suitable for confined sites since it occupies a small space.

This crane can be extended depending on the need since it has extensions to increase the height.

An operating cabin is provided to allow the operator to have a wide view when lifting the loads.

A ladder is provided inside the wall height of the tower to allow the operator to climb to the operating cabin.

The main components of a self-supporting crane are;

Jib.
Operating cabin.
Mast.

Walk ways.
Hook.

This is just a summary of the cranes used in fixed material handling.

Thanks for reading, if you have any questions leave your comment. See you in my next article.