VAHLE equipment for Noell cranes in Rotterdam

Rotterdam is proud of having the biggest industrial port in Europe. So it is only logical that some of the biggest container cranes in the world are also found here. Noell has built these giants for the firm of Maersk, and equipped them with power supply systems from VAHLE.

The demands made on container cranes at today`s handling ports have increased enormously during the last few years. TIme is money - and especially so in the container transport business. Container ships are becoming bigger and bigger, and time at the quayside is expensive. The ships therefore have to be loaded and unloaded as quickly as possible in order to keep the costs as low as possible. This means that the container cranes employed have to be extremely efficent. And this particularly affects the crane trolleys, which in many cases now have to be able to travel at speeds of 200 - 240 m/min.
Technical limits

Under these conditions, conventional cable trolleys soon come up against their technical limits. The high rates of acceleration and braking cause extreme oscillations in the freely suspended cabel loops as well as high impact forces at the buffers of the cable trolleys. Through the uncontrolled movements of the trolleys, the service life of the cables is significantly reduced, resulting in the need for frequent maintenance and repair. To reduce the stresses on the cables at operating speeds above 200 m/min, it makes sense to equip at least some of the cable trolleys with their own form of propulsion. In this way, the crane trolley and the cable festoon system move synchronously. The number of powered cable trolleys depends on the type of crane and its technical parameters, e.g. the distance and speed of travel of the crane trolley, the rate of acceleration, the weight of the cables, etc.

VAHLE offers solutions

To meet these repuirements, VAHLE offers solutions using the most advanced technology.Motopowered cable trolleys, e.g. for fast-moving container cranes and motor powered cable drums with frequency-regulated motor for long travel and spreader operation are part of the complete system as used, for example, for the giant Noell cranes in Rotterdam or for NTB in Bremerhaven. The latest generation of powered cable trolleys can even handle cable weights of up to one tonne. The VAHLE systems already installed have proved themselves in daily operation and are characterized by symmetrical and problemfree operating behavior. The effects of wind, drive slip and slippery trolley beam conditions are offset by a speed adjustment system for which patents have already been applied.Maintenance is largely reduced to regular visual inspections.

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