Mobility and safety in a facility are at the forefront of importance. Workstation cranes and material handling equipment are essential to maximizing space, by providing light to medium lifting capabilities.
When you think of mobile crane solutions, gantry cranes typically what comes to mind. While gantry cranes are highly mobile and easy to relocate, they are not the only solution that can be relocated. Workstation bridge cranes are installed in fixed locations, but they can be relocated without difficulty if necessary.
The Best Option for Your Facility: Ceiling-Mounted or Freestanding
Workstation bridge cranes have two primary configurations for installation in facilities. These options are ceiling-mounted and freestanding designs.
Ceiling-mounted systems are installed by attaching to existing support structures with no additional structures required. Mounting this type of crane id done by simply clamping mounting brackets to beams on the ceiling with the hardware supplied.
These types of cranes are noteworthy for providing complete material handling coverage in areas with limited floor space, while having the benefit of offering load capacities up to 4,000 lbs. As easy as it is to install ceiling-mounted cranes, uninstalling for relocation is just as simple. This design makes it easy to move a system to a different location in the facility if the layout changes, or if you move to a new facility.
Freestanding overhead bridge cranes are installed by bolting directly to a facility’s floor. They are ideal for lofty ceilings, multiple workstations, different ceiling heights, or a location with any obstructions such as a sky light or airduct. One of the appeals of these systems is that installation requires only a standard six-inch reinforced concrete floor. Specialized tools and foundations are not required if the minimum requirements are met.
Support columns are mounted to the concrete foundation with lag bolts. These lag bolts make it easy to remove the system for relocating to a new location within the facility. The system can also be removed completely and installed in a new facility if necessary.
Both ceiling-mounted and freestanding solutions provide an excellent method of relocation while also providing different methods of integration. Which one to ultimately choose comes down to your facility’s layout and your facility processes.
Somethings to Keep in Mind
In the everchanging workplace, many different crane solutions are suitable to meet any growing facility’s needs. Cranes that are easy to relocate give the setup of your facility a whole new range of possibilities to operate where you need them to. With simple installation that requires no specialized tools, relocating your workstation bridge crane can be one of the best solutions for workplace flexibility.