A gantry crane is an upright crane that supports the bridge, trolley, and hoist with legs. These legs can either roll on casters or ride on rails that are embedded in the earth. Outdoor projects or below current overhead bridge crane systems are common uses for gantry cranes.
Gantry cranes are often used in production plants, shipyards, scrap yards, railyards, special building sites, and steel mills for activities.
A gantry crane, unlike a bridge crane, does not require attachment to a building’s support system. This configuration removes the need for permanent runway beams and support columns.
Larger gantry systems can run on an integrated rail or track, normally in a straight line in a specialized work area. Smaller lightweight gantry systems may be relocated around a site on casters or wheels for repair or light fabrication work.
Different Types of Gantry Cranes
Here are some different types of Gantry Cranes:
Full Gantry Crane Systems
The most widely accepted is a full gantry crane, which consists of two legs that travel on the rail that is flat with the top surface of the floor. In a specific work area, they generally run in a straight line. Motorized equipment such as scissor lifts, forklifts, carts, and trucks will roll over it and move underneath the crane because of this nature.
Semi-Gantry Crane Systems
Gantry cranes may also be built with one leg on wheels or rails and the other side of the crane on a runway system attached to building columns or a building structure’s sidewall. These are beneficial because they will help you conserve room on your floor or in your workspace.
This setup, unlike a bridge crane, does not require two runways to be assisted by or connected back to building columns.
Portable Gantry Crane Systems
Smaller, lighter-duty gantry cranes with casters or rubber wheels are known as portable gantry cranes. The user can drive it around a facility to accommodate different materials or loads thanks to the wheels.
When they’re empty and not in use, they can be transferred or stored anywhere in the shop, including into various work cells, to maximize space efficiency and versatility.
Adjustable Gantry Cranes
Variable height and span designs are possible with adjustable gantry cranes. When moving a gantry device in and out of a facility or through various parts of a store, adjustability enables the users to alter the height of the beams, giving them more versatility.
What Are The Uses Of Gantry Cranes?
Following are some important uses of Gantry Cranes:
- Cranes with a full gantry or semi-gantry are widely used in heavy fabrication applications or in outdoor yards such as rail yards, shipping and container yards, steelyards, and scrap yards.
- They’re also common in cement and precast applications for areas where slab concrete is formed and cured. Their architecture enables them to be used outside while still allowing forklift trucks and other motorized traffic to operate and pass under them.
- Portable gantry cranes are typically used to raise and hold items in place as they are being worked on, fabricated, or assembled. Although the load isn’t usually shifted around the building, the gantry itself can be moved.
- In comparison to a jib crane or workstation crane, portable gantry systems may provide more versatility. A jib crane is normally mounted on a ground concrete base, and once it’s in operation, it’s there for good.