Retrofitting a condition monitoring system on the energy supply system of an RMG crane

Richard Habering | 22. January 2021

Description of the application

In this blog, or rather vlog, we have packed the main information into short videos alongside pictures and text. We hope that this will make the topic of smart plastics even more understandable. Konstantin Schmer takes you on a rail-mounted gantry crane. There we carried out the retrofitting of a condition monitoring system as a complete package. It presents itself, the application and the still unassembled components. As it progresses, it shows where and how the parts are assembled. The typical place of use for these cranes is loading terminals in ports or freight stations. In the following picture you can see the crane we are talking about today.

First, Konstantin briefly introduces himself and the application.

Benefits of condition monitoring on the crane?

The main arguments for condition monitoring on the crane are maximum safety and reliability for the energy supply system. These systems are designed for long and trouble-free operation. Shutdowns should not happen at all, or at least be possible to eliminate with little effort. This is precisely where condition monitoring systems have their strengths or raison d’être. Each module has its own advantages.

Use of an EC. P system:

• increases in push or pull force are detected in time and expensive consequential or total damage is prevented.

Use of an EC.B system:

• protection against consequential damage in case of chain breakage with minimum maintenance costs

Use of a CF.P system:

• no abrasion of the cables in the inner radius of the e-chain due to incorrectly adjusted cables

More detailed information on the EC. P, EC.B and CF.P system can be found in separate blogs.

What belongs to an EC. P system?

What does an installed EC. P system look like?

What belongs to an EC.B system?

What does an installed EC.B system look like?

What is part of the CF.P system?

What does an installed CF.P system look like?

Is it always possible to retrofit a condition monitoring system?

The answer to this question is clearly “yes and no”. As can already be seen in the videos, in most cases it depends on the type of energy supply. Unfortunately, the condition monitoring units are not available for all chain series. In this application, a P4.1 rol e-chain is installed, in which all 3 systems can be retrofitted without restrictions. When the gantry crane was installed, no smart plastics components were installed. The retrofit took place after just under a year and was completed within a very short time.