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Ports predicted to drive autonomous crane market past $6 billion by 2030

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Ports are receiving significant investment to both optimize and automate daily operations.

According to global technology intelligence firm ABI Research, revenues for autonomous cranes in ports will surpass $6 billion globally by 2030, with Asia-Pacific (APAC) taking up over half of the market.

Ryan Wiggin, senior analyst at ABI Research, says: “The adoption of advanced technologies in port operations continues to grow in all regions but does vary based on infrastructure maturity and union resistance. [Read more…] about Ports predicted to drive autonomous crane market past $6 billion by 2030

XCMJ shows off massive 2,000-ton crawler crane

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XCMG has been showcasing the power of its new, massive crane.

XCMG’s 2,000-ton XLC26000 crawler crane has successfully completed the hoisting and installation of a 603-ton carbon dioxide stripping tower for the construction project of the largest green fertilizer plant in Bangladesh in this month.

The XLC26000 is the largest ever tonnage crawler crane that China has exported to Bangladesh. Bangladesh has been relying on importing agricultural fertilizers. [Read more…] about XCMJ shows off massive 2,000-ton crawler crane

DFI’s Bridge Crane solution provides one-off customization and worry-free management

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Industrial computing specialist DFI has unveiled its Bridge Crane solution, which it says provides one-off customization and worry-free management

An overhead crane, commonly called a bridge crane, is a type of crane found in industrial environments. An overhead crane consists of parallel runways with a traveling bridge spanning the gap.

A hoist, the lifting component of the crane, travels along the bridge. Every year in the modern ports of the world, tens of thousands of containers and bulk goods come in and out through bridge cranes.

Unlike mobile or construction cranes, overhead cranes are typically used for either manufacturing or maintenance applications, where efficiency or downtime are critical factors. [Read more…] about DFI’s Bridge Crane solution provides one-off customization and worry-free management

Construction: Interference could undermine development of crane technology

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crane collapse

Keith Armstrong, worldwide electromagnetic compatibility specialist at EMC Standards, looks at problems with electrical interference and how construction managers can minimise their risk

Cranes are synonymous with the idea of development. Typically used to construct buildings, cranes aid the economic and social development of a town or city. However, cranes suffer from a persistent problem that is indicative of a significant threat to the future of technology: interference.

In the early days of the UK Department of Trade and Industry’s EMC Awareness Campaign, there was an infamous incident where a man was crushed to death by a crane. In this case, electrical interference caused the crane to prematurely release its load while the man was operating it with his radio-control pendant. Unfortunately, this tragedy is not an isolated incident.

There was another incident with a company that claimed to have made the controls and drives for the first large scale hovercraft-testing tank in the late 1960s. It was, in effect, a sophisticated travelling overhead crane, which ran the length of a gantry along overhead rails and towed a hovercraft shape along a large pool of water in an even larger building. In those days, they used resistor-transistor logic, which ran on a 40 V rail to provide noise immunity.

[Read more…] about Construction: Interference could undermine development of crane technology