KABELSCHLEPP Metool tests cable carriers for crane systems on the company’s own outdoor testing facility. Travel lengths of more than 100 meters and travel speeds of up to 5 m/s can be automatically simulated there. A system developed in-house for monitoring the pull/push forces in energy chains ensures the system works safely around the clock seven days a week.
The 116.5 m long testing facility for cable carriers requires two fully automated and individually controlled 105 m travel lengths. This length corresponds to the trolley travel length of a seaport container crane that is also known as a ship-to-shore crane in specialist terminology. The maximum test speed of the 1.3 tonne system trolley propelling the long travel chain system is 5 m/s with an acceleration of 1 m/s². Given these values, KABELSCHLEPP Metool is in a position to cater for and test all crane and long travel path applications.
KABELSCHLEPP Metool focused on the unloading procedures in a port when defining and deciding the actual test procedures for cable carriers. These show a somewhat irregular pattern and therefore also an irregular load for the overall system. The test engineers took this fact into account in the specially programmed crane-test cycles. Realistic permanent loads of the cable carrier chains can be tested, monitored and documented – that is unique in the industry.
To ensure the system to run for seven days a week, 24 hours a day, and in all weather conditions, KABELSCHLEPP Metool has developed a system for monitoring the pull/push forces on the energy-chain system. The monitoring system is not only used for monitoring the trials. In the meantime, it is also used on actual applications. The crane operator therefore is offered a useful and cost-effective safety upgrade for their system, which can be integrated into existing crane systems.