As customers demand more from their crane controls, manufacturers are responding with ever more sophisticated solutions.

In the past, says Diego Zamberlan, team leader of application engineering, at Autec, the demand was for smaller sizes and more configurability options.

“Today customers are asking for more. They want more customisation, diagnostic visualisation and, increasingly, they want to ‘record’, to understand the commands a transmitter sends to a receiver,” he says. “Data display is one thing but in the future more will be expected in terms of data information.”

Other controls manufacturers agree that data is high on customers’ wish-lists. Hans-Peter Bauer, president of NBB Controls & Components, says today’s controls are a far cry from the past when all that was required was On/Off and Ready.

“Overhead cranes have become more hi-tech. so radio remote systems need to keep pace,” he says. “Increasingly we have frequency converters in use which enable a stepless move of the crane hoist so soft movement and really precise handling of heavy weights can be achieved more easily.” Customers are also looking for “assistant systems” to help operators work more efficiently and safely. A tandem drive system allows an operator to work with two cranes/hooks at the same time, says Bauer. In addition to technological

advancements, safety and energy efficiency are also driving developments, says Stephen Marczi, sales manager at Munck Cranes.

Dan Beilfuss, director of Magnetek Material Handling, says customers want more information from their crane so they can make better decisions and reduce downtime. They also want to be able to make their diagnoses from a remote location. Safety is also a high priority.

“Through the use of a PLC combined with a diagnostic device like Magnetek’s Datalogger or Wireless Diagnostic System, control diagnostics and real-time operation status are available,” says Beilfuss.

“Two-way data feedback between the crane and the user provides actionable information. Operators can monitor a crane with their smartphone, tablet or PC and make necessary adjustments and predict maintenance needs.”

Diagnostics also help crane manufacturers with warranty claims, says Gerd Berger, sales, marketing and support manager at Hetronic.

“Manufacturers always ask for advanced features to monitor things such as movement or operation time of the crane, whether it’s been overloaded, misused by side pulling of the rope or running it constantly into the limit switches.

Sometimes after six months users will say the crane is broken and they claim under warranty but no-one can prove it’s been misused,” says Berger.

In response to this, Hetronic’s receivers contain black box-type technology to record the number of movements, emergency stops and overloadings.

STRONG DEMAND

These demands for new technology are keeping controls manufacturers busy. For Cervis, the primary steel and steel processing sectors have offered good results. Automotive and general machinery manufacturers also produced strong orders during the third quarter of 2017.

“There are a couple of things that have had a positive impact on sales, including preventative maintenance product replacement, general capital expense projects and upgrades of cranes,” says director of industrial sales Randy Butter. One of the most positive impacts on Cervis’s sales in the material handling industry is the new Warrior product line which was launched this year. The new range, which includes light-duty single and two-speed hand-held remotes and a more complex engineered console box, is enabling Cervis to access new sectors and improve market share, says Butter.

Cervis has a reputation for complex engineered systems for heavy industry but the Warrior products are taking the company into the commodities.

“It can be used for many applications, including overhead cranes, conveyor belts, hoists/winches, and jib and gantry cranes,” says Zamberlan.

Autec’s most recent launches are the Sidekick, or SK4, and DYNAMIC+. The SK4 features an ergonomic casing and a belt so the unit can be worn around the user’s waist, allowing them more freedom to carry out tasks. It features bidirectional radio communication with an extended working range and four LEDs for data feedback. Meeting customer demands for more information, a data logger records RC operations.

DYNAMIC+ is a series of four transmitters—DJS, DJL, DJR and DJM—which can be combined with Autec’s new CRD receiver. The receiver offers customisable cabling with the choice of M12 circular connections, a 10-pin reduced plug or a cable gland.

CRD provides up to 12 analogue and 64 digital outputs, available via CANopen interface, two stop outputs, two UMFS outputs, two CAN outputs and four programmable MOSFET outputs. All the remote controls come with a visual data feedback display.

Autec also has products in the pipeline. After launching the FJB joystick transmitting unit Autec started work on bringing the colour feedback display to a compact joystick system. The compact remote control, which has yet to be named, will feature a 2.8in colour display. Autec is also set to release a DIN rail receiver which will be able to be stored in an electric cabinet of a machine.

NBB is now upgrading the design and technology of its Nano and Nano-L range to include safety technologies such as proximity recognition. This will be launched early in 2018.

Hetronic, which is part of Methode Electronics, has enjoyed growth over the past two years and sales in the current financial year are 30% ahead of the same time last year. The company has opened sales offices in the UK and Sweden, where it was previously represented by dealers, and moved into larger premises in Germany where it is doing some customisation and prototyping.

The need for more data is one of the factors driving developments in crane and hoist controls