Cranes and Composites
Cranes and Composites
(OP)
Is anyone aware of crane or lift manufacturers that are using composite materials for structural elements of their products? "Big Blue" collapsed in Milwaukee, WI several months ago - it was one of the largest construction cranes in the world (over 500 feet tall, several hundred ton-US capacity) and welding has been suggested as its problem. The mass of the structure in a crane is a significant limiting factor for capacity and composite materials offer significant "performance" improvements for these structures...






RE: Cranes and Composites
RE: Cranes and Composites
Bill Lampson, president of the crane company said: I'm satisfied there was nothing wrong with the crane," Lampson said. "There was nothing wrong with the setup of the crane and nothing mechanically wrong."
News accounts from the period also say the crane slipped because it was operating on a hazardous surface of plywood over pea gravel.
All lift equipment is designed and manufactured with a safety factor of 5 to 1. then the crane capacity design is for five times nominal capacity. If crane lift 400 ton, the crane was designed to support 2000 ton.
RE: Cranes and Composites
I can dig up the name if anyone is interested.