Crane Buildings
Crane Options for Metal Buildings
An easy and economical method of moving bulky, awkward, or heavy items from one site to another, cranes are a fundamental component of many modern industrial metal buildings and manufacturing plants. These economic solutions utilize mechanisms like trolleys, hoists, fasteners, and bumpers to relocate heavy cargo from one location within a building to another.
Metal Building Outlet steel buildings can be structurally designed to support three types of cranes to help with manufacturing and business endeavors: top-running cranes, underhung cranes, and monorail cranes. We can assist with all the structural design providing brackets and sometimes the runway beam.
Underhung Bridge Cranes
Underhung cranes are trolley hoists that travel along a crane bridge by hanging from flanges, and are ideal when a loaded hoists and trolleys must be transferred from one beam to another. Typically used to lift between 1 and 10 tons and travel between 20 and 50 feet, underhung cranes are available in either hand-powered or electric formats, the latter of which is generally operated via a pendant on the floor. Great for large, open spaces, as well as, partial aisles, these cranes don’t need to extend completely between building columns because they utilize support brackets that are attachable to building rafters. Generally more cost-efficient than top-running cranes, underhung models can be affordably coordinated with monorail trains, if desired.
Top-Running Bridge Cranes
Top-running bridge cranes handle a variety of different loads, and are ideal in steel buildings where head room is minimal. Single girder cranes can lift anywhere between 1 and 20 tons, and those with wide flange girders can travel 20×60 feet spans while those with double girders can lift as much as 100 tons and transport goods between 60 and 100 feet at a time. Runway bumpers utilize either springs or hydraulics, and can be used to absorb the crane’s kinetic energy. Runway stops, as the name suggests, are used to stop a crane in motion, and top-running cranes must have a heavy bracket bolted at the top of the runway’s girders.
Monorail Cranes
A monorail crane utilizes a trolley that rides along the bottom flange of a runway beam to carry both the crane and hoist. Monorail cranes are designed to lift between 1 and 10 tons, and are available in electric and hand-geared formats. Commonly used in storage facilities, industrial manufacturing plants and maintenance facilities, monorail cranes offer an affordable method of transferring goods on a prearranged route that can be easily modified using switches or turntables.
Contact Metal Building Outlet for more about our available cranes and how we can help determine the best crane design for your needs and your building’s structural system.
