PROJECT OF THE MONTH
A double-girder bridge crane with twin hoists and continuous load monitoring.
Wire rope hoist from STAHL CraneSystems for a maximum lifting height of 102m and load capacities up to 16t.
Twin hoist with special features A double-girder bridge crane with maintenance platform is now in use at the Rappbode Dam. The hoist is from the STAHL AS 7 wire rope hoist range. Users appreciate the modular system because of its tried-and-tested, low- maintenance components. The twin hoist with a 2/2–1 hook configuration offers a maximum lifting height of 102m for loads of up to 16t. The counter-rotating rope guide prevents hook drift, enabling heavy loads to be lowered with great precision. The hoist travels a distance of 12m with a span of 6.3m in order to open the bulkhead for the bottom outlet and perform further lifting work to. It is mounted on an upper girder trolley and requires only a low ceiling height, making it ideal for use in the dam wall of the Rappbode Dam system. As this is a twin hoist, only one of the hoists has overload protection. The load is measured at the torque support of
the gearbox by means of a pressure sensor attached to the supporting structure. This allows load measurements to be taken even in the lower partial load range with a high accuracy of ±6% of the nominal load. The SMC22 multi- controller is used as the control unit. It is mounted directly on the hoist and records the most important operating data in real time. With its continuous load control, it can immediately shut down the hoist in the event of overload. The travel and hoist mechanisms and the rope drums
with customised lengths are all custom-made. In addition, the stationary YALE-VSIII spur gear block is attached to both sides of the trolley for maintenance purposes. The two maintenance chain hoists have a load capacity of 500kg and a lifting height of 4m in order to optimally meet the requirements of typical maintenance and auxiliary work in the dam wall. The special solution is complemented by a hook block designed for underwater operation.
Difficult on-site installation Each CraneKit is pre-assembled upon delivery and contains all necessary documentation and instructions. The crane system is assembled on site according to the user-friendly plug-and-play principle. However, there were a few hurdles to overcome when implementing the solution at the Rappbode Dam: due to the limited space available, dismantling the old crane and installing the new one inside the dam wall was particularly difficult. The crane components had to be lifted from the road
through a narrow 2m x 4m hatch in the dam wall using a mobile crane. This is a real challenge with components that are sometimes over 6m long due to their span. Space was also tight below the hatch. The possible distance between the crane runway and the lower edge of the ceiling was very small. This meant that the project required a skilful approach to the installation of the special hoist design. Despite the difficult circumstances, the project was completed in a short time. Planning, ordering and production began in July 2024, implementation on site in September 2025, and commissioning took place in October 2025. Further projects between STAHL CraneSystems and Voigt Seilerei are already in the planning stage.
10 | March 2026 |
www.hoistmagazine.com
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