Customized solution for crane drive synchronization

Melbourne-based Modular Cranes Pty Ltd is one of Australia′s leading overhead crane suppliers, offering modular packages for payloads up to 100 tons. The cranes are individually adapted to suit the particular factory layout or application. The family-run business, established more than 30 years ago, supplies quality material handling products to clients all over the country. 

A manufacturer of heavy truck trailers had been successfully using two 22 meter wide overhead cranes in its factory. Changes in the production process now necessitated the installation of a third identical crane on the same set of support beams, allowing for very long and heavy trailers to be moved through the factory with the load shared between two of the cranes at any one time. However, the specific crane used in this application was no longer in production. After many years of reliable service, the existing cranes had not nearly reached the end of their lifespan, and therefore it was neither economical nor environmentally sustainable to replace them. Modular Cranes needed to find a practical and economic alternative design solution to match the performance and synchronization characteristics of the existing onsite cranes.

Customized drive configuration
For the new overhead crane's two bridge drives, Modular Cranes sought the expertise of German drive manufacturer NORD DRIVESYSTEMS. NORD proposed an integrated solution consisting of an efficient helical gear unit, a standard four-pole electric motor with a 10 Nm electromagnetic brake, and a motor-mounted frequency inverter with an external brake resistor. The two bridge drives were configured to synchronize and match the existing cranes using a simple parameter set-up procedure and were flange-mounted on the crane girder. Operation is comfortably carried out with the same remote control pendant, no additional configuration is required. The precision of the NORD helical gear set and the flexibility of the decentralized frequency inverter software permitted this new crane to be synchronized with the existing cranes without rotary encoders.

Resilient gearbox & Adaptable electronics
NORD configured the gear units using its UNICASE helical inline gearbox series, the UNICASE housing design - with its one-piece machined construction including integrated flange and bearing sets - provides long and trouble-free operation and allows for a highly robust solution that can withstand extreme loads. The economic solution consists of two flange-mounted NORDBLOC.1 geared brake motors, each fitted with an SK 205E frequency inverter and an external brake resistor. The SK 205E inverter which solve the synchronization problem selected for this application realizes drive functions, makes shielded cables unnecessary. The inverter is also equipped with an integral 24 VDC power supply to provide the internal control voltage.
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