Archivo por meses: junio 2020

Minimize Your Steel-Building Costs with Overhead Cranes Built from Box Girders

One of the most effective ways to lower the cost of your steel building project is to install overhead cranes built from box girders instead of structural beams. These cranes can be both lower capacity and higher capacity cranes.

Box girders
A box girder is an enclosed, four-sided tube made from multiple walls. Unlike an I-beam or H-beam, a box girder contains multiple vertical webs. Double girder cranes built from two box girders usually feature a pair of box girders with the trolley and hoisting mechanism operating on rails attached to the tops of each box girder. Single girder cranes are built using a single box girder with the trolley and hoisting mechanism running on the lower flange of the box girder.

5 Key advantages of box girder cranes in steel-building construction
Some overhead crane manufacturers, such as GH Cranes & Components, custom build their cranes from box girders rather than wide flange beams. The advantages of this technique are many.

  1. Lower cost of steel: Building with box girders requires less steel. One of the main costs of an overhead crane is the materials used in its manufacture and the less steel that is needed, the lower the cost of steel in the crane.
  1. Lower weight: Overhead cranes built from box girders are also lighter than comparable cranes built from structural steel. Columns can be lighter weight, runway beams can be lighter, and the building structure can be a lighter weight overall. 

    Also, the lower weight of the box reduces the structural requirements of the runway design by lowering the crane loads on the runways and support columns.

  1. Better hook height: Another advantage of box girder cranes, whether single girder or double girder, is that they enable you design the girder depth to improve hook height.
  1. Greater loading capability: A further advantage of box girder cranes is that they possess greater loading capabilities and are able to span longer bridge distances than their structural-steel counterparts.
  1. Greater design flexibility: Steel buildings need to be designed to loading requirements. When you determine the load of your crane, you also consider the dead load (on the building all of the time) and the live load (on the building when the crane is lifting or moving a load). The advantage of overhead cranes built from box girders is that they give you more design flexibility, since they are lighter than comparable cranes built from wide flange beams.

Conclusion
If you are getting ready to design or erect a steel building, you likely understand that a number of factors affect your cost of materials.

One of those factors is the engineering requirements for your building to meet local wind, snow and seismic code requirements as well as loading requirements. But have you considered that the type of overhead crane you install in your steel building also affects your price?

Consider installing an overhead crane built from box girders. You’ll enjoy lower costs, greater design flexibility and greater loading capacity.

 

 

GH participation in the new Quito metro

At GH Cranes & Components we are very proud to have been involved in the construction of the first metro line in Quito, Ecuador. With a length of 22 km from El Labrador Station to the Quitumbe, the metro will make it possible to cross the city in just 34 minutes.

The project, carried out by Acciona, is one of the most important engineering works in the world in recent years. Its implementation required three huge tunnel boring machines nine metres high and weighing approximately 1,660 tonnes each.

During the execution of the works, a total of fifteen cranes from GH Cranes & Components were used: ten single girder overhead cranes of between 3.2t, 5t and 6.3t, one 10t semi-gantry crane and four 25t gantry cranes with 50m span/30m between end carriages (10m cantilever per side).

The assembly of the cranes was carried out by Fenix ​​Ingenieria, with a team of fifteen people and four mobile cranes working simultaneously on each gantry crane. In addition, a 150/10t gantry crane was installed for removal of the tunnel boring machine heads.

The new Quito metro will become a reality at the end of this year and is expected to change the lives of the residents of the city by improving productivity and reducing environmental pollution. It is estimated that it will transport 400,000 citizens a day, which will lead to a reduction of 67,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.


Participación de GH en el nuevo metro de Quito

Desde GH Cranes & Components estamos muy orgullosos de haber estado presentes en la construcción de la primera línea de metro de Quito, Ecuador. Con una extensión de 22 km. desde la Estación de “El Labrador” hasta la de “Quitumbe”, el metro permitirá recorrer la urbe en tan solo 34 minutos.

El proyecto, desarrollado por Acciona es una de las obras de ingeniería más importantes de los últimos años en el mundo. Para su desarrollo han sido necesarias tres descomunales tuneladoras de nueve metros de altura y un peso aproximado de 1.660 toneladas cada una. 

 Durante el proceso de ejecución de la obra, intervinieron un total de quince grúas de GH Cranes & Components: 10 puentes grúa monoviga entre 3.2t, 5t y 6.3t , 1 grúa semipórtico de 10t y 4 grúas Pórtico de 25t por 50m de luz / 30m entre testeros (10m en voladizo por lado).

 El montaje de las grúas fue hecho por FENIX Ingeniería, con un equipo humano de quince personas y cuatro grúas móviles trabajando simultáneamente en cada grúa pórtico. Además se instaló una Grúa Pórtico de 150/10t, para el retiro de los cabezales de las tuneladoras.

 El nuevo Metro de Quito será una realidad a finales de este año y pretende cambiar la vida de los quiteños mejorando la productividad de la ciudad y reduciendo su contaminación ambiental. Se estima que transportará a 400.000 ciudadanos diarios, lo que supondrá un ahorro de 67.000 toneladas de CO2.