Safe cable guidance for sheerleg cranes with cable weights of up to 45kg/m

• What was needed: E4/4 series energy chain, designed as a sliding variant and as a roller energy chain
• Requirements: Long travel distances, high cable weights, high travel speed and acceleration, highly corrosive environment on the high seas
• Industry: Offshore, cranes
• Success for the customer: The heavy-duty energy chains are designed as multi-belt chains and carry the high additional loads without any problems. In one case designed as a roller energy chain, the drive energy required is significantly reduced and wear is minimised.

Today, sheerleg cranes are irreplaceable for shipbuilding, but also for the realisation of other structures such as bridges. Equipped with an A-frame, offshore cranes can sometimes lift heavy loads of several thousand tonnes.
Absolutely reliable components must therefore be used to feed sensitive cables for power or data to the adjustable crane jib. In addition to typical offshore conditions such as aggressive corrosion and strong winds, there are other requirements depending on the design of the sheerleg crane. Particularly in the case of the large heavy-duty cranes, the travel distances are long and the cable weights to be moved are correspondingly high. For these two sheerleg projects, the planners were looking for a low-wear and permanently safe cable routing that could guarantee a high level of planning reliability.

Both projects utilise the plastic-energy chain system E4/4, which is designed for the offshore sector and is also suitable for high additional loads as a mid-belt chain. The specific loads of 34.6 kg/m and 45 kg/m are reliably and permanently moved with these "Heavy Duty"-energy chains over travel lengths of 54 m and 74.4 m respectively. The chain achieves an acceleration of up to 1.0 m/s2 and a travelling speed of 1.0 m/s and 1.2 m/s respectively. In the latter application, the cable routing was even designed as a roller energy chain, which reduces friction even further compared to the sliding version, can reduce the drive power to less than 25 % in comparison and thus ensures a high level of planning reliability even for large cranes. Designed as plastic-energy chains, they are also particularly suitable for offshore applications as they are lightweight and corrosion-free.