Container crane systems

For decades, high-performance electric actuators by RACO have been used in numerous crane applications (e.g. locking the boom, portals and crane trolleys as storm protection). In 2012 RACO was the one of the first manufacturers to use an electric actuators for positioning the rope nips in modern ACS crane systems.

The trend away from hydraulics and toward electro-mechanical systems is growing. There are three special aspects here:

  • Control of the mechatronic systems and their simple integration into the control system architecture, in particular for automatic container crane systems (without operators).
     
  • Environmental-friendliness and operating security because no leaks or ‘freezing’ is possible in contrast to systems that use auxiliary media. Also, they are not sensitive to greatly fluctuating ambient temperatures, i.e. no additional costs for heating or cooling as is the case for systems that use auxiliary media.
  • Thanks to their high efficiency, RACO electric actuators require very little energy when in use. The motor is also switched off when at a standstill. In contrast, a pump needs to be operated permanently for hydraulic and pneumatic systems to maintain the required working pressure even when the actuators is at a standstill.

The described benefits also means significant costs savings, both for the manufacturer and also the user of the crane systems (Lifecycle Cost).