GANTRY CRANES and SEMI-GANTRY CRANES
Gantry cranes and Semi-Gantry cranes are very effective in outdoor applications where there is no current runway structure or building to support this structure. In today's modern material handling facilities, it has also become common to see Gantry and Semi-Gantry cranes utilized for indoor applications due to a few essential factors, as defined below.
Becoming more common are material handling facilities housed in buildings with long unsupported spans. Though this creates a challenge for a more traditional overhead crane, the spaces often have a less congested floor area, making a Gantry or Semi-Gantry crane operating directly on the floor an economical and practical material handling solution.
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When using a Gantry or Semi-Gantry crane system there is no longer a need for existing beam structures, runway columns, or concrete foundations; allowing you to better control your floor layout for safety, traffic and space.
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In recent years there has been a trend for smaller manufacturing business and fabrication shops to operate in leased properties such as industrial style 'mini mall' units. These types of buildings typically do not ideally support the dynamic loads that would be forced upon the structure by an overhead bridge crane, making a Gantry or Semi-Gantry crane solution an ideal fit for feasibility and cost effectiveness in material handling.
Another great feature of the Gantry or Semi-Gantry crane is portability, allowing business to relocate the entire crane with them to a new location when required. Gantry and Semi-Gantry crane systems remain a portable solution with no negative effects to the current or proposed housing location.
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Full Gantry Crane
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Semi-Gantry Crane
What is Lean Manufacturing ?
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Many different type of business are now dividing their manufacturing process into 'cell process zones'. This is an increasingly popular manufacturing model that defines precise component processes as key pieces of a larger overall process, and then further designates physical zones dedicated to those smaller component processes.
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An example of lean manufacturing model would have a central processing zone utilizing an overhead travelling crane with a 60-foot span. Within this zone then could also be one or many component processes requiring a creane with a 30-foot span. In this scenario a semi gantry crane would be ideally suited as one end would be free standing or self-supported, allowing the other end to utilize a single side of the existing overhead runway.
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