Cranes -2000 KG Maximum KBK Cranes

Bridge Cranes

Bridge cranes are characterized by the bridge, which is the moving beam, and
two stationary rails, the runways.

KBK cranes were some of the first enclosed trackcranes invented. Enclosed track
rails have largely replaced the older I-beam style cranes that were used previously.

In the most typical KBK arrangement, shown here, the worker pulls the hoist along
the bridge, and the bridge along the runways manually. The bridge articulates,
that is, it swings to an angle with respect to the runways as it moves along. As
a result, if a worker makes small movements at one end only of the bridge,
only that end of the bridge moves, resulting in much less energy consumed.

KBK jib cranes have a single enclosed-track boom that pivots about a central column. Normally they are floor-mounted, but they can also be attached to a wall or to the side of a machine.

An articulated jib has a joint midway along the boom, to be able to reach around an obstruction, or to be able to collapse to pass by an obstruction.

Rating: Least expensive crane style, not recommended for fast-paced, repetitive
material handling.

This slide-column crane lifts engines using hooks. The slide column is extremely useful in eliminating the swinging that results from using tractor drives with heavy loads.

The key to the success of the slide column is the rigid steel tube that cannot swing like a chain does.

For example, when the "North" tractor is activated, a typical hoist would begin swinging
the load. The slide column eliminates the swinging and offers exceptionally smooth
control.

In this photo, the slide column hangs from a double-bridge made from KBK2 rails.
A blue Demag hoist just behind the column does the lifting. A Demag tractor drive in blue can be seen on the right-hand side.

A slide column can also pick up offset loads, or loads where the center of gravity is unknown, or varies.


Rating: for heavy loads, where tractor drives are used, this is the most operator- friendly crane type.

This photo shows a KBK crane supporting a light-weight slide column.

To reduce the deflection of the double-bridge set, Slant Trusses (patent pending) have been attached to the top of both ALU120 bridges.

The Slant Truss is manufactured and stocked at Givens Engineering, and can be attached to most KBK rails. The Slant Truss is extremely lightweight, but can increase the stiffness of a rail by a factor of 3 or more.

In this application, the rigidity of the bridges was increased markedly, but the increase in weight was not even noticeable.

Extremely large KBK crane using 3 KBK1 runways and 2 ALU120 bridges, supporting an aluminum slide column.

The length of the bridges is 45'.

Note that the crane hangs from the ceiling from custom-designed
support steel.

For a proposal to fit your application,
email: ray@giveng.com
or
call : 519-453-9008