6 Industries That Use Overhead Cranes

Overhead cranes are hoisting equipment that is horizontally placed over workshops, warehouses and stockyards for material hoisting. Because its two ends sit on tall concrete columns or metal supports, it is shaped like a bridge. The bridge of the bridge crane runs longitudinally along the track laid on the elevated on both sides, which can make full use of the space under the bridge to lift materials without being hindered by ground equipment. It is the most widely used and the largest number of hoisting machinery.

Many industries rely on cranes to do their jobs safely and efficiently. Industrial overhead cranes have many applications even within individual industries. Using a non-removable overhead crane is a great solution if you are dealing with large, heavy or hazardous items, or when working in locations that require immediate immobilization of damaged machinery.

So, what fields are overhead cranes mainly used in? In Kinocranes' view, there are currently six categories of industrial overhead crane applications.

• 1. Automobiles and Transportation: Transportation In the automotive industry, a common use of overhead cranes is on assembly lines. They move automotive materials along different stations until the final product is fully built, making the assembly line more efficient. In the transport industry, overhead cranes assist in unloading ships. They greatly increase the speed of movement and transport of large items.
• 2. Aviation: Boeing Cranes Aviation is similar to transportation and shipbuilding, with heavy components moved along assembly lines and precisely placed in ongoing construction projects. Cranes in the aviation industry are mainly used in hangars. In this application, overhead cranes are the best choice for moving large and heavy machinery accurately and safely. Additionally, the reliability of overhead cranes makes them the best choice for handling expensive items, as unreliable cranes can cause costly delays.
• 3. Concrete Manufacturing: Virtually everything in the concrete industry is big and heavy. Due to this fact, overhead cranes make everything easier. They are efficient at handling premixes and preforms and are much safer than using other types of equipment to move these items. In concrete manufacturing, overhead cranes are often used inside factories and gantry cranes are used in storage yards.
• 4. Metal fabrication: Overhead cranes are an important part of metal manufacturing and are used for a variety of tasks. For example, they can be used to handle raw materials and melting barrels, or to load finished sheet metal. Not only do heavy or oversized materials require the strength of a crane in this application; the crane is also necessary to handle molten metal so workers can maintain a safe distance. Specialized attachments can be added to move different types of metal products, such as spools.
• 5. Power Plant: Power Plant Image Power plants need to keep running continuously, as any outage can lead to power outages. Therefore, power plants must be able to address any problems that may arise quickly. Overhead cranes are perfect for this application because they stay in place and are ready to go if something goes wrong. They also save valuable work space and provide reliable performance that saves time and money on repairs.
• 6. Shipbuilding: Due to the size and shape of the vessel, it was complex to build. Moving large, heavy objects around an oddly shaped area is nearly impossible without the right specialized equipment. Overhead cranes can move tools freely around the sloping hull. Most shipbuilding companies use wide-overhead gantry cranes, which are excellent in heavy-duty manufacturing applications.

Electric overhead traveling (EOT) cranes are used in the above 6 industries for material handling within a fixed span. To meet industry needs, overhead cranes can be categorized into several types based on their use and lifting devices:

1. Hook Overhead Crane
Suitable for general loading, unloading, and lifting transport work in factories, enterprise workshops, warehouses, both indoors and outdoors with a fixed span. The commonly used duty classes range from A3 to A7. A3-A4 are used for equipment installation and maintenance, A5 for mechanical processing, metal structures, assembly, and A6-A7 for busy conditions or frequent full-load operations. These cranes are not suitable for lifting flammable, explosive materials, or hot liquid metal.

2. Grab Overhead Crane
Used in metallurgy, chemical, cement, and other enterprises' warehouses and workshops for handling bulk materials like ore, limestone, coal, sand, etc., in fixed spans indoors or outdoors. The grabbing device is a four-rope grab with double drums. The grab can open and close at any height; for material chunks larger than 60mm, a toothed grab should be used.
Grabs are only suitable for naturally piled bulk materials; special instructions are needed when grabbing underwater materials.
The rated lifting capacity of the grab overhead crane includes the weight of the grab itself and the weight of the lifted material.

3. Electromagnetic Overhead Crane
Equipped with a detachable electromagnetic disk, it's suitable for busy loading, unloading, and transporting of ferrous metal products and materials with magnetic properties in metallurgical plants. The electromagnetic disk is powered directly by a cable reel on the trolley. The rated lifting capacity of the electromagnetic overhead crane includes the weight of the electromagnetic disk and the lifted material.

• (1) Electromagnetic Beam Overhead Crane
  With a detachable or non-detachable beam and electromagnetic disk, it's mainly used in shipbuilding, steel, and other industries for lifting super-long steel materials. Multiple electromagnetic disks can be installed under the beam, powered directly by a cable reel on the trolley or a cable basket mounted on the beam. The direction of the electromagnetic beam can be parallel or perpendicular to the main beam as per user requirements.
• (2) Top-Rotating Electromagnetic Beam Overhead Crane
  A crane with an upper rotating trolley that drives the rotation of the beam and electromagnetic disk, mainly used in steel enterprises' finished product workshops.
• (3) Bottom-Rotating Electromagnetic Beam Overhead Crane
  A crane where the rotating mechanism on the beam drives the rotation of the lifting device and the lifted material.

4. Dual-Purpose Overhead Crane
Divided into grab-electromagnetic and grab-hook types to improve production efficiency; a hook and grab or an electromagnetic disk and grab are installed on the same trolley. However, only one type of lifting device can be used per work cycle.

5. Triple-Purpose Overhead Crane
A crane with a detachable electromagnetic disk, motorized grab or gravity grab, and hook is called a triple-purpose crane. The three lifting devices can be interchangeably used to transport finished products, bulk materials, or magnetic metal materials. Only one type of lifting device can be used at a time.

6. Explosion-Proof Hook Overhead Crane
Explosion-proof cranes are suitable for workshops and warehouses with flammable and explosive gas mixtures for general transport operations. There are two main categories according to JB/T5897 standards: Category I for mining cranes and Category II for factory cranes. These cranes have explosion-proof electrical equipment and corresponding mechanical explosion-proof measures to prevent sparks that could cause combustion or explosion accidents during operation. All explosion-proof electrical equipment is marked with "EX." The explosion-proof level of the crane should be selected according to the classification of hazardous substances, represented as levels Ⅰ, ⅡA: ⅡB, ⅡC (Category I uses voltage 660V-1140V, Category II uses voltage 380V). Factories commonly use level ⅡB or ⅡC (ExdⅡBT4、Exd ⅡCT4).

7. Insulated Hook Overhead Crane
Suitable for electrolysis workshops such as aluminum and magnesium to prevent current from passing through the electrically charged components being lifted to the crane during operation, endangering the life safety of the operator. Several insulation devices are set at appropriate parts of the crane, typically three layers, known as insulated cranes. Each layer has an insulation value of ≥1MΩ.

8. Double Trolley or Multi-Trolley Overhead Crane
A crane with two or more trolleys; their lifting or running mechanisms can be designed to operate either in conjunction or independently as per user requirements. The total lifting capacity is executed according to contract specifications; it can be the sum of the main hook lifting capacities of each trolley or just one of them.

9. Casting Crane
Suitable for smelting workshops for lifting high-temperature liquid metal. Common structural forms include four main beam double trolley structures and double main beam single trolley structures (with primary and auxiliary hooks). The main hoisting mechanism has dual-drive mechanisms (mostly used for large tonnage cranes) and single-drive mechanisms (mostly used for small tonnage cranes).

10. Mobile Cab Overhead Crane
For accurate operation by the driver, the crane's cab can move along the bridge with the trolley or move independently along the main beam. Mainly used for cranes with extra-large spans.

The above information is provided by Kinocranes, which has over 10 years of experience. If you require any product or material handling solution, please contact our experts （[email protected]）, and we will provide you with a solution within 24 hours.