CONTROLS AND SENSORS Ӏ EQUIPMENT FOCUS
dirt to protect the integrity of all electronic components,” says Toniolo. To that end, REMdevices do
j user to immediately evaluate critical situations and solve them without delay.” Three standard units make
up the system: a Power and Acquisition Unit (PAU), an access point, and a video camera. Two types of camera are available, the Elite (752x582 pixels) and the higher-resolution Select (976x582 pixels); or existing cameras on the crane can be connected (after checking compatibility with Autec), since the camera connector is the standard M12 type. The system also has infrared sensors for low- light conditions. Similarly, REMdevice, another Italian company, has been making radio controls for cranes and other machinery since 2003. “Our DCS10 remote control has been designed for industrial lifting and the mechanics and automation sectors where safety and attention to complex manoeuvres are particularly needed,” says Denni Toniolo of their marketing department. “A particular application is for where several machines are operating together but where it is difficult or impossible to interconnect them through classic cables.” Remote controls often have to operate in harsh environments, outdoors and inside; protection here is an REMdevice speciality. “We take particular care to seal our control boxes against external agents such as dust, water and
38 CRANES TODAY Simple hand
control for the Lift from Autec
not even have external ports for battery-charging. “Such contacts become points of weakness and criticality in the device,” he says. “Our unique feature, which most distinguishes us from other manufacturers, is the patented technology of induction recharging. It allows us to have no external battery case or charging port, thus bringing durability, safety and robustness to all of the remote control boxes we manufacture. The total absence of external battery contacts and connections, and the use of techno-polymers such as nylon loaded with glass fibres and special rubbers, make all REMdevice radio controls compliant in class IP65 and give tenacity even in the hardest environmental and industrial conditions. “In addition, our electronics consume very little power, so that a single battery charge has a duration of up to 40 hours of actual work – which is comforting to those who have to use a radio control every day. REMdevice gives a 36-month total warranty, which includes the battery pack.” Now is a good time to be in
the crane refurbishment business. That is especially true if you are refurbishing offshore or dockside cranes – for which upgrading the control system is often the main motivation for the project. Robin Thomas is western hemisphere director at Alatas, which does exactly that. “Different industries have been adopting automation and big data analysis at different times,” he says. “Port installations and offshore crane operators are adopting it now.” As with onshore equipment, cranes such as these are large lumps of metal that generally last a long time, while control system obsolescence comes quickly. “Many ports have a mix of new cranes and older ones that date back to the 1980s or even earlier. Some shipyard cranes date from the boom that came after the second world war. The new cranes have all the latest automation and digital data sensors. The older ones were probably directly hydraulically controlled when they were first installed and may since have had an upgrade to logic systems that depend on relays, which were the latest thing in the pre-digital days of 40 years ago. “But right now is when all this is
starting to change. Port operators are demanding the f
REMdevice handsets are sealed for site conditions
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