E-Chain® for the crane track
igus® equips 12 ship-to-shore cranes in Asia with E-Chain®With the operating experience of an application with a travel distance of over 441 m in Malaysia, igus® begins a new project in Asia, in which twelve STS cranes were equipped with energy chains of the Series 5050R 17.300.0. All energy chains systems installed in a channel in the floor were equipped with stainless steel guide troughs. The travel distances of these cranes come up to 500 m.
The 260-m long E-Chain® (also the cable length plus connection length) carry three single cores, one ground wire and a fiber optic cable from the Chainflex® product range. The objective was to develop an energy supply system that can deal with the large travels with the cables designed for energy chains.
With this complex and sophisticated project, igus® has installed the new so-called "PPDS" online monitoring system for preventing damages and down times. The system monitors the compressive forces and tensile strengthsof the energy chains and improves the operating safety through preventive maintenance and fine-tuning of the system. The system compares the compressive force and tensile strength data four times a second with a pre-determined value. In case of an error, an alarm message is immediately and automatically generated and sent for instance by e-mail or SMS. An analysis of the error message is thus feasible at any required location. The stored data can also be retrieved and analyzed retrospectively for up to three months.
Energy chains incorporated in STS cranes in Antwerp
Data entry:
Target/actual comparison of the force value on the towing arm, measured four times per second, relative to the position of the energy chains system.
Data exchange option:
E-mail function issues a warning as per definition - by SMS, e-mail or fax. Online or e-mail remote data exchange
Data recording:
Readout options of the system data, retrospective up to three months, with a 128 MB memory chip. Alternative: Event-dependent data output by a modem memory.
Energy chain with medium voltage single cores and the igus® Chainflex® fiber glass cable
The main trolley on the new STS cranes travels at a speed of 240 m/min. The engaged igus® roller energy chains find application there for data and energy transmission. In this high-speed application, it is not necessary to use additional control or drive systems for the chains. Another advantage compared to a conventional system is the weight reduction that can be achieved in the trolley drive system and in the crane carriage. For every centenary trolley, there is also a roller energy chain on the crane. These two chains operate in one trough system. The mounting point of the centenary trolley on the waterside is situated on the boom, whereby the main trolley can still work with elevated boom. The centenaries can also be moved when the boom is elevated.
Technical innovations compared to the igus® Series 5050
Surfaces of the pin and hole system increased by 120%
Diameter of the pins increased from 40 to 45 mm
Material reinforcement of the lateral parts increased from 22 to 29.5 mm