Gantry cranes, bridge cranes, and overhead cranes, are all types of cranes which lift
objects by a hoist which is fitted in a hoist trolley and can move horizontally on a rail
or pair of rails fitted under a beam.
An overhead travelling crane, also known as an overhead crane or as a suspended crane,
has the ends of the supporting beam, the gantry, resting on wheels running on rails at high
level, usually on the parallel side walls of a factory or similar large industrial building,
so that the whole crane can move the length of the building, while the hoist can be moved
to and from across the width of the building.
A gantry crane or portal crane has a similar mechanism supported by uprights, usually with
wheels at the foot of the uprights allowing the whole crane to traverse.
Some portal cranes may have only a fixed gantry, particularly when they are lifting loads such
as railway cargoes that are already easily moved beneath them.
Overhead crane and gantry crane are particularly suited to lifting very heavy objects and huge
gantry cranes have been used for shipbuilding where the crane straddles the ship allowing
massive objects like ships' engines to be lifted and moved over the ship.
Two famous gantry cranes built in 1974 and 1969 respectively, are Samson and Goliath,
which reside in the largest dry dock in the world in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Each crane has a span of 140 metres and can lift loads of up to 840 tonnes to a height
of 70 metres, making a combined lifting capacity of over 1,600 tonnes, one of the largest in
the world.
However; gantry cranes are also available running on rubber tyres so that tracks are
not needed, and small gantry cranes can be used in workshops, for example for lifting
automobile engines out of vehicles.
Variants Container crane
A ship-to-shore rail mounted gantry crane is a specialised version of the gantry crane
in which the horizontal gantry rails and their supporting beam are cantilevered out from
between frame uprights spaced to suit the length of a standard freight container, so
that the beam supporting the rails projects over a quayside and over the width of an adjacent
ship allowing the hoist to lift containers from the quay and move out along the rails
to place the containers on the ship.
The uprights have wheels which run in tracks allowing the crane to move along the quay
to position the containers at any point on the length of the ship.
The first versions of these cranes were designed and manufactured by Paceco Corporation They
were called Portainers and became so popular that the term Portainer is commonly used as
a generic term to refer to all ship-to-shore rail mounted gantry cranes.
Workstation gantry cranes Workstation gantry cranes are used to lift
and transport smaller items around a working area in a factory or machine shop.
Some workstation gantry cranes are equipped with an enclosed track, while others use an
I-beam, or other extruded shapes, for the running surface.
Most workstation gantry cranes are intended to be stationary when loaded, and mobile when
unloaded.
Workstation Gantry Cranes can be outfitted with either a Wire Rope hoist as shown in
the above hoist picture or a lower capacity Chain Hoist.
Rail mounted gantry cranes
Rail mounted gantry cranes are commonly found in factory applications such as steel yards,
paper mills or locomotive repair shops.
The EOT gantry crane functions similarly to an overhead bridge crane, but has rails installed
on the ground and gantry-style legs to support the crane.
Capacities range from 2 to 200 tons, and sometimes even greater capacities.
Most are electrically powered and painted safety yellow.
When bridge cranes and gantry cranes became more popular in factories in the late 1800s
a steam engine was sometimes used as a way to power these devices.
The lifting and moving would be transferred from a fixed line shaft.
The picture on the right shows an example of system powered by a line shaft and steam
engine.
The overhead crane is from 1875, and was one of the first systems to be powered in such
a way.
EOT Crane This is most common type of overhead crane,
found in most factories.
As obvious from name, these cranes are electrically operated by a control pendant, radio/IR remote
pendant or from an operator cabin attached with the crane itself.
History Gantry cranes using built-up style hoists
are frequently used in modern systems.
These built up hoists are used for heavy-duty applications such as steel coil handling and
for users desiring long life and better durability.
Also used are package hoists, built as one unit in a single housing, generally designed
for ten-year life, but the life calculation is based on an industry standard when calculating
actual life.
See the Hoists Manufacturers Institute site for true life calculation which is based on
load and hours used.
In today's modern world for the North American market there are a few governing bodies for
the industry.
The Overhead Alliance is a group that represents Crane Manufacturers Association of America,
Hoist Manufacturers Institute, and Monorail Manufacturers Association.
These product counsels of the Material Handling Industry of America have joined forces to
create promotional materials to raise the awareness of the benefits to overhead lifting
that also include gantry cranes.
The members of this group are marketing representatives of the member companies.
Early manufacture 1840: Mass production of overhead cranes starts
in Germany.
1861: First steam powered overhead crane, installed by John Ramsbottom at the Crewe
Railway workshops. Power was transmitted to the crane from a pulley driven by a stationary
engine through an endless cotton rope.
1887: Ludwig Stuckenholz company introduces electrical components to overhead cranes determining
industry design.
1910: first Mass production Electric motor hoist start being produced in Germany.
Notable gantry cranes and dates 2008: The world's strongest gantry crane,
Taisun, which can lift 20,000 metric tons, was installed in Yantai, China at the Yantai
Raffles Shipyard.
QIDONG, China, Oct. 23, 2012 Honghua Group Limited,China’s largest exporter of drilling
rigs, announced that it will begin construction of the “Honghai Crane” at a ground-breaking
ceremony today in Qidong City, Jiangsu Province, China.
When completed, the “Honghai Crane” will boast the largest lifting capacity of any
movable gantry crane in the world at 22,000 tons.
See also Container terminal
New York Central Railroad 69th Street Transfer Bridge
List of historical harbour cranes References