It’s Been A While….

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Well, it’s been a while!

Truthfully I have been busy, I have been away abroad also! But I am back and will continue to educate the reader and discuss the latest in Lifting Gear.

Anyway…..Want to save yourself a little on that dreaded carriage? Hit www.LiftingEquipmentStore.com and get FREE SHIPPING over £300! What more could you want? Enjoy it now though because when the rain comes back and we start to feel a little bit cold, its gone! (haha, we’re not that evil really, but it is going, so hurry!)

Jib Crane Terminology

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Jib Cranes can become slightly confusing when it comes to making your first purchase as factory management it is your responsibility to ensure everything goes to plan, so reading this article will help you get to grips with Swing Jibs and ensure you pick the right one!

Firstly there is the type of Jib Crane, will you be floor mounting or wall mounting?

Donati Swing Jib Crane.

Donati Swing Jib Crane.

Types of Jib Cranes

Free Standing- When specifying a free standing jib crane the jib arm is supported by a floor mounted support, this is secured by chemical anchors that are fitted to the ground and base plate. These can be over-braced or Under-braced, if headroom issues are bound to occur (meaning you do not have enough room above the jib arm to fit the crane) under-braced ensures that the total height of the crane is no taller than the required hook path (height of lift).

Wall Mounted- The name is self explanatory, easily mounted to a wall using fixing stirrups or chemical resin anchors, giving more room on the floor of the production line. Additional height of lift can be achieved at a better cost without the need for tall columns for mounting.

Jib Cranes can have up to 360 degrees of manual or electric slew in order to efficiently and effectively reach material and lift up to 10 Tonnes. For more information and competitive quotations on Donati Swing Jib Cranes please visit Crane Handling.

Productivity- How To Increase It With A Jib Crane

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No company likes to have low productivity rates but sometimes this cannot be helped, for example if you have one overhead crane operating and more than one machine to load at a time such as a group of CNC machines. Each operator has to wait his turn to use the overhead crane to load his machine. This can be easily combatted with the addition of jib cranes. Each machine can have its own dedicated jib crane for a lot less than the cost of one overhead crane. This enables all CNC machines to be loaded at the same time increasing productivity straight away. Another advantage is value for money, more products being manufactured in less time means your employees become worth more to you making your company more successful.

Jib cranes are a lightweight alternative to heavy duty electric overhead travelling cranes. Easily installed and easy to maintain, if one jib breaks down it only leaves one machine and worker out of production, the rest are free to continue. If your one overhead cranes breaks down it can leave your whole team out of production costing you time and money. You then become dependant on a crane service company to perform the repair, this may take time and unforeseen issues such as ordering and waiting for spare parts to arrive can occur thus costing you more time and money. Jib cranes counter act this (unless they all fail at once but this is pretty much unheard of).

Donati Swing Jib Crane.

Donati Swing Jib Crane.

Considerations to take into account when looking to purchase a jib crane are the following:

  • Capacity- maximum weight to lift, your crane and hoist will be rated to this.
  • Height of Lift- the distance between the load to be lifted and the underside of the jib arm.
  • Headroom- is there lighting/trussing above causing obstruction to an over-braced jib crane? If so the use of an under-braces solution should be suggested.
  • Floor/Wall conditions- if you are floor or wall mounting the jib you need to ensure the floor/wall is structurally sound by acquiring the services of a structural engineer.
  • Electricity Supply- if you require an electric slew or hoist you will require a local three phase power supply.

There are many factors to consider when looking for the suitable jib crane, all of which can be supplied and installed by jib crane experts Crane Handling.

Jib Cranes Explained

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Lets use our imagination a little here, So you’ve got a manufacturing facility where for example you are loading large objects into a lathe that cannot be lifted by hand, you need a lifting solution. The best lifting solution for such a job?….A Jib Crane.

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Jib cranes are floor or wall mounted cranes that can lift loads usually up to 5000kg (5TON) depending on the model. They have the ability to slew 360 degrees (motorized or manual). The usual setup is a combination of the jib crane and an electric or hand chain hoist on a push or electric travel beam trolley that runs along the Jib’s arm.

Buyers can customize their Jib cranes to suit their application such as arm length, Jib height, electric or manual slew, wall or floor mounted, articulated jib, over braced or under braced arms (detailed below), hoist specifications such as dual or single speed hoisting, maximum safe working load, the list goes on.

Over-braced or Under-braced? That is the question.

As a sales executive I am always asked by customers “what do you recommend?” I can recommend that you measure the headroom above the Jib arm, over braced means that the jib arm is supported by a support above the Jib arm, this increases the overall height of the Jib (but does not increase the height of the Jib arm itself). Under braced is where the Jib arm is supported from underneath, thus saving headroom where needs be. Alternatively if you have a wall nearby a Jib can easily be mounted using the correct fittings and bolted to the wall (providing the wall is strong enough) This is usually the most cost effective option if you are so lucky as to have a wall just where you require the crane.

Images below show the different supports you can specify when purchasing.

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Crane Handling (lifting equipment store’s sister company) have been supplying Jib cranes to the industry for over 30 years, they have trained and certified engineers that can fit a Jib crane in a matter of hours and leave your workspace neat and tidy. Even if your floor is super solid Crane Handling have access to special diamond drills to complete the task ahead, we can supply a full solution to your lifting requirements.

In just as little as 6 weeks Crane Handling could be installing a Donati Jib Crane (or alternative manufacturers such as Abus, Demag, etc.) at your premises, making your workers job easier and your company safer and more efficient.