Cranes are one of the most important pieces of construction equipment since they are used for lifting heavy elements and transferring them to another place. Usually, in small construction areas, movable crane cars are used. But these aren’t quite efficient when it comes to heavy-duty construction sites.
At such places, gantry cranes are mainly used because they are more efficient than bridge or portable car cranes and can transport different elements with ease. However, the gantry crane’s use is not that popular, which might be due to lack of knowledge about them, and so on.
Owing to this reason, we have discussed some of the basic facts you must keep on mind before deciding whether you need the gantry crane or not.
Use of Gantry Cranes- Points To Note
A gantry crane can be considered a type of overhead crane with freestanding poles that don’t need to be tied to any construction units. These cranes are humongous in size and often used in outdoor areas.
They can move along straight rails or tracks built into the ground for the time being when the product is quite heavy. Smaller gantry cranes are reinforced with wheels mainly to move around easily without the need of building tracks.
A gantry crane has a hook coupled with a cable attached to a construction element like concrete blocks, large containers, and more. Once done, either the crane will move as a whole, or the trolley will slide along the overhead bridge horizontally to transfer the element from one place to the other.
Types of Gantry Cranes
There are several types of gantry cranes being used in construction sites. Each such type has a particular structure and utility, so knowing about them is crucial.
- Full gantry crane: It will have two freestanding poles housing the bridge or the rail overhead. They are always used in heavy-duty areas because they can lift huge weights.
- Semi-gantry crane: This type of gantry cranes have one freestanding leg or pole running along a rail installed on the ground. At the same time, the other end of the overhead bridge glides along a runaway rail on the construction columns.
- Portable gantry crane: The portable gantry crane is ideal for low-duty works. It is much smaller in size, and therefore, can be easily used in both the outdoors and indoors. Instead of running along the rails, they are reinforced with wheels at the base of the freestanding poles.
- Adjustable gantry crane: These cranes are designed so that you can adjust the height of beam and the length of bridge as per the requirement at the construction site. The adjustments are made with motorized functions installed within the crane itself.
Use of Gantry Cranes In Construction Projects
There are several reasons why gantry cranes have become immensely popular in the construction industry. Here are some of the main advantages this equipment has over the bridge cranes.
- First, there is no need to install any building column or runaway rail separately for their movements. These cranes usually run along a ground track or via using the wheels.
- These cranes are versatile and can be used indoors and outdoors, provided you have chosen an ideal type.
- They are robust and best for heavy-duty construction sites since they can carry much weight at a time.
Conclusion
Finally, using the gantry cranes will make it easier to shift the heavier construction items from one place to another and eliminate the need to use separate runaway rails. Besides, with so many variations in the crane designs, they can easily cater to different construction requirements.
