Intelligent wire rope hoists increase productivity & safety

When crane drivers have only one or two speeds for lifting and lowering available, the current peaks and numerous changeovers can lead to wear and tear and high energy consumption. Such a situation requires stepless and adjustable hoisting speeds. They provide better operating comfort, increase productivity and the crane’s service life even as they reduce energy consumption. There is, however, one problem: conventional frequency converters require an elaborate equipping of the crane leading to high investment costs. To overcome it, Konecranes has developed two converters with ASR (Adaptive Speed Range/Adaptive hoisting speed) and ESR (Extended Speed Range/Extended hoisting speed) that enable advanced solutions for stepless adjustment of the hoisting speed.

Stepless and adjustable controls for all movements -- lifting and lowering as well as trolley and crane travelling -- are very often used in heavy process cranes. Light industrial cranes, on the other hand, are often not so well equipped. Konecranes has pioneered this technology: All Konecranes industrial cranes are equipped with stepless trolley and crane movements, enabling superior operating comfort and ease of use.
Quality and product features
Since lighter industrial cranes still mostly have the conventional control with only two-speed hoisting in the ratio of 4:1 or 6:1, the engineers at Konecranes -- world specialists in crane and lifting technology -- have now gone one step ahead. They have developed two new converters for hoisting with ASR (Adaptive Speed Range/Adaptive hoisting speed) and ESR (Extended Speed Range/Extended hoisting speed):
?    The convenient ASR technology provides stepless control of the hoisting speed in the ratio of 10:1. Owing to the optimized model sizes of the components, the ASR technology does not require any elaborate electrical equipping of the crane. The speed with full load automatically touches a third of the maximum speed with empty hooks. The hoisting speed with empty hook, on the other hand, is 50% faster than with two-speed hoisting.
?    The ESR technology offers extremely fast hoisting speeds using more powerful engines and providing an extended speed range of up to 37:1. When operating with the maximum load, the hoisting speed with ESR is automatically two thirds of the maximum hoisting speed. However, hoisting speed with empty hook is 50% faster than with traditional frequency converter.
Both the models have varied uses because of their intelligent operation: for instance, the hoisting speed with empty hooks can be up to 50 percent quicker than the corresponding two-speed hoist engines. This saves time and increases productivity. The smooth speed acceleration provided by the converter minimizes strains on crane bridge, crane runway and building, while preventing current peaks at the same time. This ensures a longer lifetime, lower energy consumption and lesser maintenance costs throughout the service life. The crane driver can freely concentrate on safe operating, because the hoisting speed is monitored by the frequency converter according to the load. When summarizing both technologies, the conclusion is that the smaller the load is, the faster the hoisting speed is.
Applications
ASR technology: The adaptive hoisting speed is mainly for cranes and hoisting units that usually liftMen's Sneaker Hub Online