Role of wire rope hoists and underslung cranes

 We often see cranes lifting and moving heavy or bulky loads, especially on construction sites and industrial units. In factories, in order to provide more floor space, overhead cranes are used. 

Overhead cranes are basically a combination of the hoist, trolley and bridge. All these components provide motion and multi-directional mobility to the crane.

The hoist is situated on the bridge girder, which is a primary horizontal beam of the crane. Hoists are meant for lifting and lowering heavy loads on a vertical plane and can also be connected to the trolley for back-and-forth movement on the horizontal bridge girder of the crane. For lifting loads, chains or wire ropes are used depending on the weight to be moved.

While chain hoists are good enough for lifting load up to 5 tons, wire rope hoists are more appropriate for a load above 5 tons.

Wire rope hoists

A wire rope hoist is a lifting and lowering device that is used for moving heavy and bulky loads or objects in which instead of chains, wire rope or cable is used. Wire rope is attached to the pulley that is connected to a motor for moving.

At the end of the wire rope, a hook is attached to hold the bulky load required to be lifted or lowered. On turning the pulley, wire rope or cable wraps around and initiates the process of moving objects through the wire rope hoist.

 Invariably, wire rope hoists of various designs are used in industrial units to move heavy loads using a trolley system that facilitates easier and safe load movement. The capacity of wire rope hoists depends upon the thickness of the wire rope, the efficiency of the motor and the load to be moved.

In many cases, in order to further distribute load and reduce the strain on the wire rope hoist, extra pulleys are also be attached with the wire rope that may result in increased weight lifting capacity of the hoist.

When there is the need to lift extremely heavy loads or bulky objects, industries use electric wire rope hoists, which are basically mounted overhead. It can be installed as a stationary or moving back-and-forth hoist on a rail.

The electric wire rope hoists installed in factories have an enclosed electric motor for turning the grooved drum.

The grooved drum has a number of metal strands coiled together for wrapping the wire rope. Due to grooved wheels, electric wire rope hoists can be mounted on the overhead monorail and can be operated in more than one location.

Although wire rope hoists are mounted overhead yet in many instances or locations where space is a constraint or steel supporting system is not there. In such conditions, the underslung crane can be the best solutions.

Underslung Crane

An underslung crane, also known as under running overhead crane, is supported from the roof structure through a single or double girder. Underslung crane is most appropriate for factories with limited floor space as it can be installed, without additional supporting columns, with the existing structure of the building.

Underslung crane is light in weight and ideal for handling load up to 10 tons.

If you need the finest, durable and reliable quality of electric wire rope hoist or underslung crane, rely on the LOADMATE – manufacturers of cranes and hoists of international standards.