When your company's manufacturing processes or processes change, you may want to consider increasing the crane's load capacity. Increasing the load capacity of existing equipment is usually a more economical option than buying a new crane.
How to increase the load capacity of the crane?
The first step
Define the lifting requirements for the new production or process plan.
It is often wise to look beyond short-term needs. In the long run, you can save the company money by taking into account anticipated business growth and the anticipated increase in crane loads to meet your long-term needs.
The second step
Investigate the feasibility of improving the load capacity of existing equipment.
To my knowledge, increasing the load capacity of a crane by more than 25 percent is uncommon, but not unheard of.
Method to determine whether the crane can be upgraded
Method 1
Structural engineering analysis.
Method 2
Carry out the feasibility study of crane load capacity lifting.
This approach is less costly, but not as thorough as the full analysis. The feasibility study focuses on the analysis of the main structural, mechanical and electrical systems of the crane to determine the feasibility of increasing load capacity and, if so, which components need to be modified or replaced.
Feasibility studies can help clients plan their next steps. If the results of the study show that lifting load capacity is impractical, then the cost of the full analysis is saved for the customer. Customers can continue to plan for new equipment purchases.
However, if the feasibility study shows that upgrading existing cranes is a viable and cost-effective option, the results of the study will form the basis of a complete analysis that will be used to plan and design crane modifications to achieve load capacity improvements. For example, in order to improve the load capacity of the bridge crane, a common transformation is to replace the whole set of trolley and hoist components, while retaining the main beam and other structures.
Another factor that must be considered in lifting the crane's load capacity, independent of the crane itself, is the structure of the building. Typically, a civil engineering firm hired by the client is responsible for this part of the study and determining whether the building can safely support the added weight.
