Smart faucets adapt to any situation

Wherever something is produced, a suitable solution must be found for the internal transport of materials, semi-finished or finished products. Sometimes there are also special requirements attached to this, for example with regard to the location or the type of material to be transported. ABUS Kransysteme GmbH offers customized cranes and hoisting equipment for each specific application. Hoisting Equipment has been known as a distributor of ABUS systems in Belgium for many years. Today, the Bornem-based company is highlighting the ABUControl, an intelligent and modular crane control system.

ABUS Kransysteme GmbH, headquartered in Gummersbach, Germany, is one of the leading hall crane manufacturers in Europe. The company produces more than 5,000 cranes annually in 50 different designs for customers in Germany and 55 other countries worldwide. "Each crane is different in terms of design, size, number of drives and functions. Everything is custom-made and is often extremely complex. Yet it is important to work with standard modules in order to keep production times short. Furthermore, the systems are continuously optimized with the latest technological developments such as, for example, the ABURemote remote control or digital data processing for preventive maintenance and repair," says Jan Sillis of Hoisting Equipment. "In the current era of Industry 4.0, the demand for powerful control systems is rising. This is why ABUS developed the intelligent and modular crane control system ABUControl. All required crane functions can be implemented with only two standard modules and parameters can be set quickly and easily in the control software. User comfort, system safety and ease of maintenance are therefore the focus.

All data, settings and service information can be visualized in a simple way. It looks like you are just surfing the Internet.

Operator and system comfort and safety

ABUS has made every effort to increase comfort and safety in the workplace. Thus, a particular driving and lifting profile can always be created, perfectly tailored to the needs of the application. After all, cranes with two fixed speeds function completely differently from cranes controlled via frequency converters. Thanks to these profiles, the inconvenience of positioning is eliminated, significantly increasing productivity on the shop floor. "To further increase comfort and safety while transporting goods, the operator can also activate the sway damping function. This limits load sway by controlling the acceleration and deceleration of the crane and trolley," adds Sillis. "This sway damping is based on mathematical calculations that take into account travel speeds, the acceleration and deceleration of crane and trolley, the position of the hook and the length of the lifting equipment. Even persons, who rarely work with a crane, can thus transport and position loads without risk." If a load is lifted simultaneously with two hooks, the equal-speed control ensures that both hooks operate at exactly the same speed, even if the load is unevenly distributed. The prerequisite is that the crane is equipped with frequency control for hoisting. Even with cranes running in tandem, the travel speed is controlled so that they remain perfectly spaced apart. Because of this tandem control, up to four hoists and trolleys coupled to one crane can be operated.

The ABUControl control system ensures system and operator comfort and safety.

Maintainability

This crane control is very maintenance-friendly. "The ABUControl is built from standard interchangeable electronic components, which have already proven their worth in modern automation technology. As a result, you can have a component replacement or repair performed by any service partner," concludes Sillis. "Moreover, via the modern interface KranOS, you can access all the system's data, settings and service information whenever you want and as easily as surfing the Internet."