Application
Crane runways and port cranes demand the extreme: travels of tens of metres, heavy power cables, wind, salt and temperature swings. Here a cable carrier is no longer a catalogue item but a system of trough, driver and correctly sized steel chain. We calculate it and deliver it complete with drawings.
On working days you receive a tailored quotation by email within 3 hours.
Beyond roughly ten metres of travel, running unsupported is no longer an option. The chain then runs in a guide trough where the upper run glides over the lower run and the driver bracket introduces the force cleanly. The design is about more than the chain: trough length, trough support, sag at the reversal point and the position of the fixed end together decide whether the system runs quietly for decades.
Steel chain handles large unsupported lengths and heavy fill and does not change properties in frost or strong sun. In coastal climates we look at surface treatment and material choice for the metal parts, because salt finds the weakest point of any structure. Plastic remains interesting for lighter indoor cranes and hoist components with short travel.
Crane cables are thick, heavy and often shielded. Allow at least twelve to fifteen times the cable diameter as bend radius; for very heavy power cables the cable manufacturer sometimes asks for more. Distribute the weight symmetrically, place heavy cables near the neutral line and use generous chambers so the cable can move at the reversal point without rubbing the wall.
Outdoors you deal with wind load on the unsupported arc, water standing in the trough and ice in winter. Troughs are therefore built to drain and covered where necessary. In polar or extremely hot conditions we look at the cable jacket as well as the chain, because the jacket becomes the problem before the steel does.
For crane projects we work from the drawing: travel length, fill, speed, mounting points and environment. You receive a proposal with bill of materials, weights and drawing so the designer can build the system straight into the design. Wear parts stay available afterwards.
Send travel length, cable package and environment — a drawing or photo is fine. On working days you receive a proposal with bill of materials and weights within three hours.
Know your travel, fill and bend radius? Calculate your cable carrier in two minutes in the configurator — or let us check it for you.
