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CRANE

A crane is a type of machine, generally equipped with a hoist rope, wire ropes or chains, and sheaves, that can be used
both to lift and lower materials and to move them horizontally. It is mainly used for lifting heavy things and transporting them
to other places. The device uses one or more simple machines to create mechanical advantage and thus move loads
beyond the normal capability of a human. Cranes are commonly employed in the transport industry for the loading and
unloading of freight, in the construction industry for the movement of materials, and in the manufacturing industry for the
assembling of heavy equipment.

The first known construction cranes were invented by the Ancient Greeks and were powered by men or beasts of
burden, such as donkeys. These cranes were used for the construction of tall buildings. Larger cranes were later developed,
employing the use of human treadwheels, permitting the lifting of heavier weights. In the High Middle Ages, harbour cranes
were introduced to load and unload ships and assist with their construction some were built into stone towers for extra
strength and stability. The earliest cranes were constructed from wood, but cast iron, iron and steel took over with the
coming of the Industrial Revolution.

HISTORY OF CRANE
Ancient Greece
The crane for lifting heavy loads was invented by the Ancient Greeks in the
late 6th century BC. The archaeological record shows that no later than c.515 BC
distinctive cuttings for both lifting tongs and lewis irons begin to appear on stone
blocks of Greek temples. Since these holes point at the use of a lifting device, and
since they are to be found either above the center of gravity of the block, or in pairs
equidistant from a point over the center of gravity, they are regarded by
archaeologists as the positive evidence required for the existence of the crane.

Ancient Rome
Heavier crane types featured five pulleys (pentaspastos) or, in case of the
largest one, a set of three by five pulleys (Polyspastos) and came with two, three or
four masts, depending on the maximum load. The polyspastos, when worked by four
men at both sides of the winch, could readily lift 3,000 kg (3 ropes x 5 pulleys x 4 men
x 50 kg = 3,000 kg). If the winch was replaced by a treadwheel, the maximum load
could be doubled to 6,000 kg at only half the crew, since the treadwheel possesses a
much bigger mechanical advantage due to its larger diameter. This meant that, in
comparison to the construction of the ancient Egyptian pyramids, where about 50 men
were needed to move a 2.5 ton stone block up the ramp (50 kg per person), the lifting
capability of the Roman polyspastos proved to be 60 times higher (3,000 kg per
person).
TYPES OF CRANE
1. Overhead Crane - also known as a bridge crane, is a type of
crane where the hook-and-line mechanism runs along a
horizontal beam that itself runs along two widely separated rails.
Often it is in a long factory building and runs along rails along the
building's two long walls. It is similar to a gantry crane. Overhead
cranes typically consist of either a single beam or a double beam
construction. These can be built using typical steel beams or a
more complex box girder type. Pictured on the right is a single
bridge box girder crane with the hoist and system operated with
a control pendant. Double girder bridge are more typical when
needing heavier capacity systems from 10 tons and above. The
advantage of the box girder type configuration results in a system
that has a lower deadweight yet a stronger overall system
integrity. Also included would be a hoist to lift the items, the bridge, which spans the area covered by the crane,
and a trolley to move along the bridge.

2. Truck mounted Crane - A crane mounted on a truck carrier


provides the mobility for this type of crane. This crane has two
parts: the carrier, often referred to as the Lower, and the lifting
component which includes the boom, referred to as the Upper.
These are mated together through a turntable, allowing the upper
to swing from side to side. These modern hydraulic truck cranes
are usually single-engine machines, with the same engine
powering the undercarriage and the crane. The upper is usually
powered via hydraulics run through the turntable from the pump
mounted on the lower. In older model designs of hydraulic truck
cranes, there were two engines. One in the lower pulled the
crane down the road and ran a hydraulic pump for the outriggers
and jacks. The one in the upper ran the upper through a
hydraulic pump of its own. Many older operators favor the two-
engine system due to leaking seals in the turntable of aging newer design cranes. Hiab invented the world's first
hydraulic truck mounted crane in 1947.

3. Sidelifter Crane - A sidelifter crane is a road-


going truck or semi-trailer, able to hoist and transport ISO
standard containers. Container lift is done with parallel crane-like
hoists, which can lift a container from the ground or from a railway
vehicle.

4. Rough
Terrain Crane - A crane mounted on an undercarriage with four
rubber tires that is designed for pick-and-carry operations and for off-
road and "rough terrain" applications. Outriggers are used to level and
stabilize the crane for hoisting.

5. Mobile Crane - The most basic type of mobile crane


consists of a truss or telescopic boom mounted on a
mobile platform be it on road, rail or water.
Common terminology is conventional and hydraulic
cranes respectively.
6. Pick and Carry Crane - is similar to a mobile crane
in that is designed to travel on public roads; however, Pick
and Carry cranes have no stabiliser legs or outriggers and
are designed to lift the load and carry it to its destination,
within a small radius, then be able to drive to the next job.
Pick and Carry cranes are popular in Australia where
large distances are encountered between job sites. One
popular manufacturer in Australia was Franna, who have
since been bought by Terex, and now all Pick and Carry
cranes are commonly referred to as "Frannas" even
though they may be made by other manufacturers. Nearly every medium and large sized crane company in
Australia has at least one and many companies have fleets of these cranes. The capacity range is usually ten to
twenty tonnes maximum lift, although this is much less at the tip of the boom. Pick and Carry cranes have
displaced the work usually completed by smaller truck cranes as the set-up time is much quicker. Many steel
fabrication yards also use Pick and Carry cranes as they can "walk" with fabricated steel sections and place these
where required with relative ease.

7. Carry Deck Crane - is a small 4 wheel crane with a


360 degree rotating boom placed right in the centre and
an operators cab located at one end under this boom. The
rear section houses the engine and the area above the
wheels is a flat deck. Very much an American invention
the Carry deck can hoist a load in a confined space and
then load it on the deck space around the cab or engine
and subsequently move to another site. The Carry Deck
principle is the American version of the pick and carry
crane and both allow the load to be moved by the crane
over short distances.

8. Teloscopic Handler Crane - are like forklift trucks


that have a telescoping extendable boom like a crane.
Early telescopic handlers only lifted in one direction and
did not rotate,[40] however, several of the manufacturers
have designed telescopic handlers that rotate 360 degrees
through a turntable and these machines look almost
identical to the Rough Terrain Crane. These new 360
degree telescopic handler/crane models have outriggers
or stabiliser legs that must be lowered before lifting,
however their design has been simplified so that they can
be more quickly deployed. These machines are often used
to handle pallets of bricks and install frame trusses on many new building sites and they have eroded much of the
work for small telescopic truck cranes. Many of the worlds Armed forces have purchased telescopic handlers and
some of these are the much more expensive fully rotating types. Their off road capability and their on site
versatility to unload pallets using forks, or lift like a crane makes them a valuable piece of machinery.

9. Crawler Crane - have both advantages and disadvantages depending


on their use. Their main advantage is that they can move around on site
and perform each lift with little set-up, since the crane is stable on its tracks
with no outriggers. Caterpillar tracks are also far better at traversing soft
ground without sinking in, as they spread the weight out over a great area.
Thus a crawler crane can move about an unprepared job site with less risk
of getting stuck in soft ground. In addition, a crawler crane is capable of
traveling with a load. The main disadvantage is that they are very heavy,
and cannot easily be moved from one job site to another without significant
expense. Typically a large crawler must be disassembled and moved by
trucks, rail cars or ships to its next location.

10. Harbour Crane - Dry bulk or container cranes usually in the bay areas
or inland water ways.

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