Smart combination of safety control unit and sensors

Load-sway reduction for universal cranes offers crane users an improvement in load handling as standard. Thanks to a smart combination of safety control unit, sensors and radio control, the operator can handle loads faster, more precisely and more safely – an assistance system with high benefits.

Whether for fast material handling when loading and unloading trucks or handling heavy components with millimetre precision when assembling machinery, crane load sway costs time, robs productivity, poses risks and can lead to damaged loads and collisions.

Up to now, this function could only be provided for indoor cranes at great expense. Now it is very simple: Demag universal cranes can be fitted with load-sway reduction as a standard op-tion.

SafeControl, developed in-house by Demag, provides the basis for this assistance function. It monitors all relevant motions and also allows integration of additional sensors and functions into the safety circuit. In this case, a wire-rope angle sensor detects the sway motions and gives the SafeControl signals for active ‘compensation’, in other words, independent corrective motions of the travel axes.

This not only reliably detects and dampens any increasing load sway caused by acceleration and braking. Even in the event of unexpected faults or irregularities, the system is activated immediately. The result is that sensitive loads can be positioned quickly, precisely and above all safely. This safety system thus supports not only inexperienced crane operators, but also pro-fessionals, who can now work even more productively and safely with load-sway damping.

Load-sway reduction is offered as an option for all Demag universal cranes fitted with the SafeControl system. Load-sway damping can be easily switched on and off via radio control. The current status (on/off) is shown on the display of the control unit.

With these features, load-sway reduction for universal cranes is an option with high benefits for a (reasonable) investment, which pays for itself quickly – through faster load cycles and more sensitive handling. Furthermore, improved safety for man and machinery is the biggest ad-vantage in favour of the load-sway reduction option.