E-Crane® benefits from willingness to replace cable cranes with equilibrium cranes

E-Crane®, of West Virginia, already claims to be benefiting from customer willingness to replace cable cranes with equilibrium cranes, as the latter’s greater flexibility and greater ability to clear out barges combined with adjustable downforce and greater grab position accuracy pay off.

Now, the company says, it is bringing new zeal to optimal operations of the equilibrium cranes it markets. Its automatic “boom float”, for example, has been developed to operate during the grab closing phase so that the boom is automatically allowed to move up slightly to achieve better filling the bucket. In turn, the bucket does not push against the material (or the bottom of the vessel) during its closing phase. “Due to the complete control of the bucket by the operator, potential damage to vessels is eliminated,” said Jerry E Hoffmann, E-Crane product support. “The operator has complete control of the bucket, including 360 powered rotation; any damage would be accidental.”

Most recently, the company has launched the B-Series overload protection system, which takes into account the way crane operators focus on the movement and environment of the load and has no time to verify its weight. The micro-processor driven warning and protection system allows for maximum performance without damage to the crane while staying within safe operating parameters. In case of an impending overload a yellow warning light is activated, warning the operator of a potential overload condition. A red light indicates an overload condition to the operator. In this condition the crane’s operating system allows only boom and stick movements that bring the crane to a safer position. The operator cannot cause any movements that would increase the load condition.