MechChem Africa May 2018

⎪ Materials handling, conveying, lifting and logistics ⎪

Crane and hoist manufacturer Condra is to supply feature- rich lifting equipment for the ongoing expansion at Aberdare Cables’ Port Elizabeth facility. Feature-rich hoists for very wide cranes

T he modernisation and expansion programme of Aberdare Cables’ Port Elizabeth facility calls for two overhead travelling factory cranes spanning23meachwithcapacities of 30 t and 15 t, respectively, alongwith a 20 t allweather portal crane with a span of 26 m. An order worth some R5.5million was placed early in December on Johannesburg- headquarteredCondra for all threemachines to be designed, manufactured and delivered by end February 2018. The cranes, which will be used to handle newly filled power cable drums, are both robust and feature-rich, sporting: hand-held remote controls for operation from the factory floor; control cabins for alternative operation fromelevated vantage points such as open cabins on the factory cranes and closed cabins on the portal machine; variable frequencyVbelt drives on thehoists; and load cells to protect design limits andwarn opera- tors via LED lightswhen these limits arebeing approached. In addition, the portal crane fea- tures Condra’s patented storm brake. Condra holds substantial stocks of locally manufactured spares, routinely delivering

these parts to any point in South Africa within 24 hours. European companies with local represen- tation, on the other hand, need several weeks to ship spare parts to South Africa. Aberdare Cables has experience of

The 30 t, 23 m span double girder electric overhead crane under test at Condra’s Johannesburg works ahead of delivery, where it will be installed and commissioned by Load Mass Crane Services at the Aberdare Cables factory in Port Elizabeth.

Condra’s service through Load Mass Crane Services, the Port Elizabeth-based company behind the trouble-free operationof an initial Condra crane installed some years ago, and the company thatwill also install, commission andmaintain the three newmachines. Two of these cranes will lift completed cable drums comingoff theproduction lines into a covered storage area. Outside, aportal cranewillman- age the open-air storage facility. The first machine to be delivered, a 30 t double-girder electric overhead travelling crane with a span of 23 m, was tested and inspected ahead of road delivery by Transcon Haulers, aCondra affiliate. The remaining two machines, the 15 t crane of identical span and and both have spans of 18.4 m. The third crane, delivered during April, is an 18.4 m span 50/20 t machine featur- ing variable frequency drives on the main lift, long travel and cross travel to facilitate precise positioning of very heavy loads. The auxiliary hoist on this machine has a standard two-speed option, while lift heights of the main and auxiliary hoists are 16mand 17mrespectively, similar to those of the first two cranes. The design of all three machines was described by a Condra spokesman as ‘standard’, although they feature live-axle drives across their design in place of the more common ring-gear configuration, part of Condra’s mandate to keep maintenance costs to a minimum. Other non-standard elements of the Exxarocontract include special LEDlighting, limit switches on the long-travels and cross-

similar configuration, anda20 t double-girder portal crane with a wider span of 26m, are at an advanced stage of manufacture. Asked about incorporated technology, a spokesman for Condra pointed to variable frequency drives on all hoists, adapted and set to allow lifting speeds that can be altered atwill fromvery slowto very fast, maximising productivity by minimising handling time. Condra routinely supplies variable frequen- cies drives of up to 100 Hz across its hoist range, the spokesman explained. Condra is tipped to secure further orders resultingfromtheAberdareCablesexpansion programme, when open ground is converted into additional factory space. q travels, and armoured cable on all wiring. The Condra spokesman said that manu- facture of all three machines had been straightforward except for painting, which took twice as long as the usual seven days because of heavy rains experienced during this final phase of manufacture. All cranes were nevertheless delivered on schedule. Condra is in constant pursuit of lower machine maintenance costs, one result of which is the live-axle drives incorporated in the Exxaro cranes. Gearboxes across the hoist rangewereup-rated someyears ago to deliver additional power, and the company today uses a 36Bcase hardenedmaterial on most pinions. This material, though expen- sive, is beneficial inextending crane lifespan. Additionally, hoists are fitted wherever possible with high tensile strength ropes to reduce rope diameter and enable a reduction in drum diameter and a smaller gearbox and motor. These factors all help the customer to contain costs. q

More cranes for Grootegeluk Coal Mine Exxaro has again chosen Condra to manu- facture high-lift overhead travelling cranes for vehicle workshops at its Grootegeluk Coal Mine, near Lephalale in Limpopo Province. Orders for three cranes placed late last year bring to six the number of these machines supplied by Johannesburg- based Condra since mid-2016, with a total combined order value of some R10-million. Authorised Condra distributor H&H Specialised Services secured the first of the new orders, for two cranes, in November of last year. A third crane was ordered in December and a further order for a fourth machine is expected soon.

H&HSpecialisedServiceswillsupplystaff and technical expertise to install and com- mission all of the newcranes, the first twoof whichhave alreadybeendelivered. Bothare 50 t double-girder electric overhead travel- ling cranes with standard twospeed hoists,

May 2018 • MechChem Africa ¦ 19