TECHNOLOGY REPORT | CONTROLS
Q Magnetek Collision Avoidance systems R Magnetek Intelli-Lift
P The Intelli-Lift hoist with sensor.
This is something that is inexpensive and easy to integrate, and it can save customers from having expensive repairs from cranes colliding with each other or a wall. In addition to avoiding cranes, there is technology such as Intelli-Protect No Fly Zone systems that create barriers around objects on the plant floor, such as assembly lines with employees, racks or storage equipment, or other pieces of equipment that the crane needs to avoid. “This kind of automation relies on sensors; and the sensors you will use depend on your environment. In typical indoor applications where you don’t have dust, you can mount a low-cost laser that
points to a reflector on your wall or on the other crane and measures the distance to an object or wall and tells you how far away it is. So, if you want to stop 10 feet before a potential collision point, this technology can automatically stop the crane and prevent that accident. “If you are outdoors, the sun can interfere with lasers; or in steel mills you often cannot see more than 20 feet in front of you. For those applications, you would use a higher-end technology such as a radar. Again, the automotive industry has helped there: Automotive manufacturers will use radar on vehicles to ‘see’ through all sorts of bad environments, like fog,” adds Cummins.
Crane sensors and technology do the same thing. “The sensors provide feedback to tell you where your hook is or your trolley. Then, you can add some additional intelligence. Other sensors - cameras perhaps - spot where the load is, so your crane can pick it up automatically. While you may only have a hook on the end of the hoisting rope coming down to the plant floor to lift the load, there may be additional sensors on it that are weight or pressure driven. These sensors give you feedback that it has successfully latched onto something. From there, you can have the crane move the load from point A to B to C automatically if it is a fully automated
AUTOMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR COIL CRANES
Storage and processing of metal coils are important activities in the metals industry. These coils can weigh as much as 50 tons and stand 7 ft (2m) high, making the handling of them challenging. North Carolina-based company Trutegra has proven automation technology for the equipment that handles these metal coils. Recently, a company that standardizes on Trutegra’s crane technology expanded its facility. The expansion contains 1800 storage locations. Trutegra incorporated multiple sensors - lasers, limit switches, encoders, load cells - to measure the selected coil and verify that it matched the information from the Level 2 management system. Once picked, the coil is moved to a transfer car for transport to another area of the plant for galvanizing, annealing or shipping. These fully automated cranes run 24/7 in a limited-lighting warehouse. Each crane has its own PLC, receiving commands from the Level 2 system and executing all the manoeuvres necessary to complete the orders. There are multiple cranes on each runway, adding another layer of complexity to the project. This results in an overlap in
the area of travel, requiring careful execution of moves and the inclusion of collision avoidance technology. Trutegra’s Skew Control package keeps the bridge girders perpendicular to the rails at all times. In total there are 10 fully automated cranes, 10 semi-
automated cranes, and 24 semi-automated transfer cars across three buildings running Trutegra’s technology. Trutegra has also successfully automated the handling of metal processed as slit coils. lighter, usually only two to 24 inches (5 to 60cm) wide and weighing less than 5 tons, and are typically stacked “eye to the sky”. Due to these unique challenges, this had been an entirely manual process for the customer. Trutegra custom-designed the mounting system for an array of sensors on the coil grabs to enable automation. Trutegra’s TruStor Warehouse Management
System enabled the tracking of these coils in storage, as well as optimization of the storage to minimize crane time to retrieve the coils. Since these cranes do not run 24/7 at night, bringing the coils required for the next day to the front and top of the stacks. Along with Trutegra’s No-Sway technology, intervention and saving both time and money in the process.
www.hoistmagazine.com | November 2021 | 31
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