An Overview About Self-Erecting Cranes

28 April 2020

While different innovations are applied to the components and materials of cranes, the concept behind the use of cranes from the time they were first used during the Roman Empire until today is still the same. They are still used to lift and lower construction materials, equipment, and other items. They are also utilised to move and transport things from one place to another.

Numerous industries today use cranes on their crucial lifting and material handling operations. These industries include construction, storage, automotive, heavy equipment repair, metal manufacturing, concrete manufacturing, power plants, shipbuilding, plastic injection moulding, aviation, and transportation.

Today, cranes can be classified into different types. One of the known types of cranes are self-erecting cranes.

About Self-Erecting Cranes

A lot of countries all over the world maximise the use of self-erecting cranes on specific applications. They are designed to be easily transported and erected in any given site. When being prepared for transport, these cranes will fold up their tower into two sections and their jib into two or more sections. When folded up, these cranes can now be easily transported with the help of their mounted highway axles or through a flatbed transport.

Features of Self-Erecting Crane 

Self-erecting cranes have approximate working ranges that include jib radii or reach from 80 to 160 feet, hook heights from 55 to 120 feet, tip loads between 1,000 and 3,000 pounds, and maximum loads from 2,000 to 11,000 pounds.

The unfolding and erecting duration of self-erecting cranes are typically done between fifteen and thirty minutes. Once the crane is erected, it must be calibrated and tested first before using them. With the calibration procedure, the time between the crane’s unfolding and its actual use is usually around two to three hours.

Most models of self-erecting cranes have minimal site footprint and dimensions. Some of them can have a footprint of 10 feet by 10 feet or 14 feet by 14 feet footprint, which makes them suitable on tight or even impassable sites. When unfolded, their compact size enables them to be transported with as small as a 1-ton vehicle.

Another feature of self-erecting cranes is that they run on electricity. Some of their models operate on 220/240v single-phase or 480v three-phase electricity, allowing them to operate without too much noise. They can also be operated easily and safely as these cranes only require a short learning curve. Maintenance and downtime for these cranes are minimal as well since they are made from durable materials and are equipped with efficient components.

Self-Erecting Crane Applications

Since self-erecting cranes are packed with beefy features, you can expect them to be useful in a lot of applications. These cranes can be used to place site material, raise complete wall sections, hoist and position trusses or roof rafters, set up steel beams, wood, and timbers, pick up trash receptacles, and place roof sheeting or roofing shingle bundles. Other uses of these cranes include positioning of workers via a man basket to various locations, accessing hard-to-reach areas to place or work on chimney tops, and gutters, and placement of concrete.

All the features of self-erecting cranes make them valuable to any field projects. If you need self-erecting cranes, feel free to contact us at Sharp Welding and Crane Hire. We can offer you a complete package of erection and crane hire with fully qualified crane drivers, riggers, and dogmen.