Choosing a pipe-laying crane

2024 Author: Erin Ralphs | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-19 11:42

What are pipe-laying cranes? This is the name of specialized construction equipment, designed, as the name implies, for laying pipes of large diameter and long lengths.

Most of the pipelayers are tractor-mounted and belong to tractor technology.

Because pipelines are very long and most often built from settlements, the pipe-laying crane must meet special requirements.

• It should be very easy to maintain. Pipelayers often work far from populated areas where complex repairs are impossible.
• The pipe-laying crane must have high cross-country ability: these machines rarely work on asph alt. Their element is rugged terrain.

To ensure reliable and trouble-free operation of the unit, when choosing it, you need to take into account the most important characteristics, namely:

• pressure (average) that the pipe-laying crane exerts on the ground;
• ground clearance;
• traction parameters.

What can a tractor-type material handling unit do?

• Raise the mounting hook and boom.
• Change the level of hook lifting and the distance of its departure as necessary.
• Vary the length of the arrow.
• Perform all these operations at the same time.

The pipe-laying crane can be mounted not only on a tractor base. When laying pipelines, self-propelled pipe-laying rigs assembled on the basis of cars are often used.

Russian workers are familiar with such models as the Kato crane (Japan), the Liebherr pipe-laying truck crane (Germany).

Kato truck cranes are popular because their telescopic booms can extend up to 50 meters and their lifting capacity often reaches 20-160 tons. If additional jibs are attached to the Kato boom, then the lifting height immediately increases to almost a hundred meters. The Liebherr pipe-laying crane is even more powerful.

In difficult conditions, pipe-laying cranes assembled on the basis of all-terrain vehicles can be used to install pipelines.

When purchasing a pipe-laying crane, the future owner must necessarily take into account the documentation accompanying the unit. In addition to the technical parameters, it indicates:

• Recommended maintenance intervals, repair frequency.
• Ways to fix damaged structures and parts of the unit.
• Methods and rules for adjusting the brake system.
• List of the most rapidly wearing parts.
• Safety measures for operation, repair and maintenance.
• Warranty life.

Note thatany pipe-laying crane, including self-propelled ones, must be equipped with a towing device (in case of a malfunction), its running gear with an additional parking brake.

It must be remembered that any type of pipe-laying crane must necessarily have a load limiter. This device prevents the machine from tipping over and works automatically if the load exceeds the allowable parameters. The limiter is set according to real parameters, and violation of its adjustment is prohibited: it threatens an emergency situation.