Column Mounted Material Hoist
Uma Engineering Works, led by an IIT Kharagpur M.Tech engineer, has been an active manufacturer in the Mechanical Handling equipment industry for the last four decades. In addition to jib cranes, this small scale industry has commissioned many gantry cranes and gates for the hydropower and irrigation sectors. Recent areas of interest include cranes for power plant and wind turbine erection.
Handling of materials/ equipment in multistory buildings and industrial plants such as boilers, cement plants, refineries etc, is done using tower cranes and/or builders tower hoists. For reaching various floors, cantilever platforms are to be erected temporarily to unload materials at different elevations. In contrast, a Column mounted jib crane takes the columns in the structure for supporting the jib and hoist assembly with a slewing mechanism.
Material is hoisted from the ground level away from the structure / building and as it reaches the floor where jib hoist is mounted, the load is taken to the floor by slewing the jib to the required extent and lowering the load on to the floor, as seen in the pictures. The jib crane is made in a few parts, so as to enable a crew of four people to dismantle, carry it to the desired floor and re-erect it in a day. A few of the cranes can be mounted on several floors to operate individually.
Any material, such as construction equipment bricks, windows floor tiles, fittings etc which are to be fitted in any floor can be handled conveniently. In cases of boilers and other plants, various small plant and material for each floor, such as gratings, chequered plate, insulation, refractory casing, hand rails, gas cylinders, welding plant etc can all be conveniently handled.
The advantages of this design are:
- The jib crane is a safe hoist, portable and smooth operating device.
- Integral brake provides fail safe braking.
- Crane is erected on the structure using clamps, optimizing on the total weight.
- It can be erected at any level and operated to handle materials to any level below the mounted floor.
- A guard rail is provided for operators safety.
- With a little guide, the crane can be permanently installed as a service lift for goods in the building.
