What is a gantry crane?
A gantry crane is a type of crane which lifts objects using a hoist that fits within in a trolley and moves horizontally on either on a rail or pair of rails which are fitted underneath a beam. Due to their design, gantry cranes are well suited for lifting very heavy objects. Very large gantry cranes are used in the process of shipbuilding, in which case the crane is straddled across the width of the ship, allowing objects such as ship engines to be lowered into place. Two of the most famous ship-building gantry cranes, Samson and Goliath, can be found at the dry dock in
Smaller versions of the gantry crane can be found in workshops, factories, machine shops, paper mills, and similar places. They are often employed to install or remove automobile or locomotive engines and components. These smaller cranes can be rail mounted or be mounted on rubber tires, the latter of which considerably increases their maneuverability. One specialized type of gantry crane known as a container crane is commonly used to unload containers from ships. Although they are rail-mounted, the upright supports of these types of cranes have wheels that allow for maximum maneuverability. The first versions of container cranes, manufactured by the Paceco Corporation and called Portainers, were so popular that any brand of container crane is generally referred to as a Portainer.
A gantry crane that has been recently installed in
A gantry crane is a type of overhead crane. With a gantry crane, the supports holding the crane up are fixed in location. They cannot move, and therefore the crane cannot move. For this reason, everything that the crane is going to lift must be brought to the crane. The supports form a large rectangular frame upon which the crane can move forward and back, and left and right. Anything that can be reached by the gantry crane is referred to as being in its operating area. Gantry cranes are very common in factories, where they are used to move things along the factory floor as the product is slowly assembled. For instance, if one is building a large metal piece of equipment, the metal parts may arrive on a truck. The truck will park within the operating area of the gantry crane, and the gantry crane can then be used to unload the parts. The gantry crane may also be used to move the parts around, typically along the assembly line as the components are assembled. Once the item is complete,
