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Industry 4.0 in crane technology

Tech up & cost down

Cranes in the port beside a container crane with the igus logo.

Extend product service life efficiently with smart condition monitoring solutions

Heavy loads, long periods of use, and a wide variety of weather conditions – cranes in port facilities must perform at their best. Their fields of application include, among others, ship-to-shore cranes, bulk cargo handling cranes, RTGs, RMGs, Goliath cranes, spreaders, and reach stackers.

Where there is deadline pressure and a need to guarantee safety, intelligent concepts in the form of predictive maintenance make the most sense. For a new Industry 4.0 project or for efficiency-driven retrofitting, our smart plastics solutions are available as universal modular systems and can be individually adapted to any system.

to the smart condition monitoring systems

Advantages of our smart plastics solutions:

▲ Tech up

  • Extension of the maximum service life
  • Increase in overall system efficiency
  • Integration into Industry 4.0 / IIoT concepts
▼ Cost down
  • Reduce maintenance costs through early warnings
  • Eliminate unplanned downtimes
  • Space-saving design – lower installation height & no cable loop stations

Overview of different igus crane solutions in a container terminal with rails, gantries and stackers.
Overview of different igus crane solutions in a container terminal with rails, gantries and stackers.

Different areas of application in the port ...

... always the right solution at hand with smart plastics from igus

Large harbor crane by the water with a port and several ships in the background.

Ship-to-shore cranes (STS)

Energy chains with integrated rollers reduce friction and thus minimise wear. The latest version of the igus rol e-chains uses maintenance-free tribopolymer plain bearings to significantly increase service life even further. The new P4HD can also be equipped with smart monitoring sensors. The sensor is integrated into a standard side part of the chain, which means that there are no restrictions on the usable inner width. Our energy chain systems can be installed on any type of ship-to-shore crane, regardless of whether it is a double trolley, shuttle boom or gooseneck crane.

Container conveyor system at the port with cranes and stacked containers.

Overhead cranes (RTG / RMG)

igus has been driving change in the cable guidance systems of RTGs for a long time. Today, the energy chain system is a well-established cable guidance system for trolley travels and is used in numerous RTGs worldwide. The heavy-duty 4040(R) HD chain series is preferably used as a sliding or rol e-chain version. The igus chainflex cables with TPE outer jacket have also proven themselves as durable cables in this demanding environment. And if you want to be on the safe side, use the new i.Sense CF.D for continuous condition monitoring of the cable properties.

A port crane moves containers in a terminal.

Automatic stacking cranes (ASC)

The crane operator's workplace is increasingly being moved to the office. Crane automation means that he is responsible for several cranes at the same time. Modern automatic stacking cranes not only require a reliable cable guidance system, but also the ability to communicate the current operating status anywhere and at any time. This is optimised with the new i.Cee dashboard, which can be integrated online on the Internet or on site in the local network. The current operating data can be accessed via a display on the crane, via a cloud solution or an IoT dashboard, via the REST-API interface or directly via SMS or e-mail.

Learn more

Reliable condition monitoring of cranes can be so simple ... with smart plastics i.Sense

In this way, unplanned downtime and thus enormous production losses can be efficiently avoided.

Condition monitoring | i.Sense

Condition monitoring
Condition monitoring is the easiest and quickest way to turn many igus products into self-monitoring, smart plastics products. Sensors are attached to measure values such as temperature, forces and sound waves/vibrations within pre-defined limits. Values outside the limits result in an alert or a notification. Based on this information, a decision can be made about the next steps (maintenance or shutdown). At igus, we summarise condition monitoring under the term i.Sense.

Go to condition monitoring

Predictive maintenance | i.Cee

Predictive maintenance
In contrast, predictive maintenance solutions use sensors and software to create a system that enables dynamic service life calculation and optimal maintenance times. Predictive maintenance is therefore the next step towards the implementation of a comprehensive smart Industry 4.0 system. The aim is always to maximise system and user safety as well as product life. We at igus call our predictive maintenance system i.Cee (derived from "I see ahead").

To predictive maintenance

You alone decide on the route & access of the data

Data transfer within your local company network (i.Cee:local) or via the secure cloud (i.Cee:cloud)

i.Cee local system for monitoring conveyor technology in a factory.

i.Cee:local

Your data does not leave your company network at any time, as the i.Cee software only communicates within the networks of your choice. The information spectrum ranges from a single energy chain within a machine to a complete machine park and its own output interface.

Cloud symbol with binary numbers and Wi‑Fi elements.

i.Cee:cloud

There are two ways to use the internet-based solution: either the sensors transfer their data directly to the cloud, where it is made available in a protected area via a browser dashboard. Or they make an intermediate stop via the i.Cee.net, a so-called data concentrator. The i.Cee.net is located on your premises, allowing you to customise the data exchange to the cloud at any time.

chains for cranes®

Crane with igus smart plastics for monitoring cable and tensile forces in a container yard.
Crane with igus smart plastics for monitoring cable and tensile forces in a container yard.

3D CAD portal for smart plastics

Designing intelligent energy chain systems faster. CAD models for all smart components.
Our intelligent e-chain systems are already being used reliably in many hundreds of thousands of applications worldwide - from beverage vending machines and CNC machines to steelworks. Unsupported lengths can be bridged with ease and long travels are conceivable for a wide range of industries.

3D CAD view of an energy chain on a tablet.
Whitepaper on Triple-E class container ships and energy supply for STS cranes, with a ship image on the cover.

White paper:

Triple E-class container ships and the requirements for the energy supply systems of STS cranes

This white paper deals with the following topics, among others:

  • Challenge: Cranes for triple E-class container ships
  • Requirements for the availability and reliability of cranes
  • Comparison of energy and signal supply systems for crane trolleys (festoons, busbar systems and energy chains)
  • Technological outlook: rol e-chains
Download white paper now

Industry 4.0: successfully implemented in practice

Smart Plastics application examples with various industrial installations and conveyor lines.

Heavy loads, long periods of use, and a wide variety of weather­­conditions – cranes in port facilities must perform at their best. And that is exactly where our energy chains and flexible cables are being used. They have proven themselves for years in over 10,000 ports with their corrosion-free, maintenance-free materials offering a long service life. The fields of application include, among others, ship-to-shore cranes, bulk cargo handling cranes, RTGs, RMGs, Goliath cranes, spreaders and reach stackers. Wherever safety must be ensured and there is pressure to meet deadlines, e-chains are a reliable, quiet alternative to busbar systems, festooning and cable drums.

More about the RMG crane user report

Tested for real-life use in the industry's largest test laboratory

For long travels, sensors are used in e-chain® field testing.

smart plastics selection guide

Choose for yourself which smart solution suits you best

With just a little information about your application, our smart plastics consultation tool will guide you in a targeted manner to a pre-selection of smart plastics solutions. During the selection process, the tool provides an overview of the current smart plastics options.

Start the selection guide now
igus smart plastics system with cable carrier and tablet for selection guidance.

FAQs

smart plastics FAQs

What are igus smart plastics? What does Industry 4.0 mean? In our blog, you will find answers to the most frequently asked questions from our customers:

Consulting

I look forward to answering your questions

Hennlich OOD | Хенлих ООД+359 32 621929Write e-mail

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