Handling of bulk goods: energy chain at the ship loader in the Baltic Sea port of Wismar

• What was needed: energy chain of type E4/4, chainflex®-cable
• Requirements: Travel length of 195 m, freedom from failure with high utilisation of the crane
• Industry: Cranes
• Success for the customer: Since the final commissioning of the ship loader in 2000, no faults have occurred in the energy chain.

The ship loader has a conveying capacity of 720 tonnes per hour. It travels at a speed of 20 metres per minute with a travel length of 195 metres. A large number of different bulk materials of various types and consistencies are handled. Due to the elimination of other loaders and the high capacity utilisation, the conversion of the loader had to be designed from the outset so that it could withstand the heavy load at all times. Despite the lack of redundancy through replacement systems, longer downtimes must not occur.
Since the shiploader was finally commissioned in 2000, no faults have occurred in the energy chain, neither mechanical nor cable-related. No cable or chain link has had to be replaced.

The energy chain was delivered in one metre pieces, assembled on site and fitted with the cables. The motor cable and all BUS and control cables, including those for the Siemens PLC 7 programmable logic control system, which controls the entire system, are routed through the chain (type E 4/4, series 5050 ) over a width of just 300 millimetres.
Any inductive interference fields that could impair signal transmission were prevented by special shielding of the BUS and control cables. All the power and control cables used in the chain come from the chainflex®® cable programme.