LATTICE BOOM CRAWLERS Ӏ SECTOR REPORT
Full Tilt’s LR 1400 SX lifting tilt-up panels
temporary roadways, cutting both financial and carbon costs. The crane has a couple of key
features that support safe on-site travel and set up. Gradient Travel Aid helps
Nenzing and Ehingen machines wasn’t based on capacity. Instead, it is based on intended application and configurability. The LR 1400 SX offers a much more limited set of configuration options. But it is intended to be easier to set up, for longer term jobs, while having the capacity for heavier lifts close to the crane.
Liebherr showed the 400t
capacity crane at ConExpo in 2023, where it proclaimed it as its ‘biggest multipurpose crawler’. In Vegas, it was shown with a 41m (134.5ft) main boom, and a 33m luffing jib. The crane is designed for
easy transport and set up. The crane weighs 46t (51USt), making it easy to ship. Platform and railings remain attached to the uppercarriage during transportation and only need to be folded down. Due to the crane’s self-assembly system, the boom sections, carbody counterweight, crawlers and hoist winches can be easily assembled and disassembled without the need for an auxiliary crane. The crane can hydraulically lift, lower, and secure the 150t rear counterweight without assistance. The rear counterweight is modular
and can be equipped with five or ten tonne counterweight slabs, depending on requirements. A heavy lift crawler, like those built at Ehingen or Zweibrucken, may not need to travel extensively on site. If you have a vessel or module to lift over equipment at a refinery, the benefit of these heavy lift crawlers is that you can pick where to set up, and how to configure the crane, in order to reach over these obstacles, maybe just for one or two lifts. But cranes like this are more often used over long periods. They might be working on a linear civils project, like a railway or a levee. If a customer wants to build a data centre, delivery warehouse, or battery gigafactory – particularly in the US – the crane might need to move repeatedly to tilt up large concrete panels, to enclose a vast indoor space.
This was one of the first US jobs
for the crane, as we’ll see. The LR 1400 SX is designed with this sort of job in mind. It has four crawler motors, allowing for tight manoeuvres on site. The crane’s track width can be adjusted, allowing for less work on
CRANES TODAY 27 Mountain
Crane’s LR 1400 SX on site on a windfarm in Arizona Photo credit: @jakesteinfeldt
operators navigate slopes safely. The crane’s control system automatically calculates the centre of gravity and warns the operator before the crane leaves the safe area. While travelling, the operator receives information about the permissible and actual gradient and the crane's overall centre of gravity. If necessary, the boom angle can be altered so that the machine remains in the safe area. While lifting, or preparing to lift, the operator can use Ground Pressure Visualisation. It’s easy to see how this could be a benefit on a big job site in the early stages of construction. The system calculates the current ground pressure of the crane in real time and compares it with the specified safety limits of the relevant position. The ground pressure is displayed in the operator’s cab. This means the operator is permanently aware of whether the machine is situated in, or is approaching, a critical area. The ground pressure of the crane can also be reduced using the ground pressure reduction plates. During lifting work, the operator can lower these plates to significantly increase the crane's ground contact area. The
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