Synchronized when lifting and protected from explosions

Burckhardt Compression works with tons of high-precision technology. The company from Winterthur in Switzerland is the global market leader for reciprocating compressor technology, components and service. Around 1,400 employees work for the technology company at its headquarters and in its global service network. Demand is high and the number of orders is rising continuously. Burckhardt Compression has therefore expanded its production site in Winterthur. The newly constructed assembly hall has a plant area of 2,300 square meters. After analyzing the production steps, a highly efficient process line was designed for the new hall. Konecranes advised Burckhardt Compression on the planning and implementation of the concept and customized an integrated solution for crane and lifting technology to meet the requirements.

The centerpiece of the new hall is a central transport route on which powerful overhead cranes transport compressors and components to the assembly stations located at the side. Flexible wall-mounted overhead traveling cranes are used there. The integrated paint booth requires specially protected crane and lifting technology due to the chemical vapors.

Remote-controlled and with LED lighting Thanks to the process line, Burckhardt Compression can now manufacture state-of-the-art compressors from components such as base frames, pistons and crankshafts much more productively. Employees coat the corresponding components in the associated paint booth. Konecranes has installed two powerful double-girder overhead travelling cranes with a lifting capacity of 40 tons, a span of 22 meters and a lifting height of 9.70 meters to safely transport both components weighing just a few tons and compressors weighing up to 80 tons between the individual stations. "The two cranes operate absolutely synchronously in tandem," explains Fredy Albisser, Sales Manager at Konecranes Switzerland. "One operator is enough to operate both cranes by remote control. He can also activate the four LED spotlights installed on the crane bridge. This makes load transportation significantly more efficient, safer and faster," adds Fredy Albisser.

Highly efficient process line thanks to efficient crane and lifting technology from Konecranes: In Burckhardt Compression's new assembly hall, a wide variety of compressors can be manufactured much more productively with time savings of up to a maximum of 30 percent.

The built-in frequency inverters also ensure higher productivity: compressors and components can be lifted continuously at speeds of up to 7.50 meters per minute. In addition, the low minimum lifting speed of just 0.1 meters per minute enables precision even with very heavy transports.

"The girders of the two double-girder bridge cranes are specially reinforced and have a deflection of just one thousandth of the span width. Together with the low minimum lifting speed, this makes positioning with centimeter precision much easier. This prevents the components from jamming during assembly," says Fredy Albisser. During the lifting processes, stroke synchronization increases safety: it keeps the hooks of the main and auxiliary strokes at the same height and thus prevents diagonal pull.

Explosion-proof cranes in the paint booth

A total of seven flexible wall-mounted overhead travelling cranes, each with a lifting capacity of five tons, manoeuvre the compressor components at the individual stations of the process line. Five of the cranes have a lifting height of 7.20 meters and an outreach of eight meters, while the other two cranes each have an outreach of ten meters with the same lifting height. "We have also equipped the wall-mounted overhead traveling cranes at the stations with frequency converters. This prevents load peaks during lifting and increases the longevity of the cranes," explains Fredy Albisser. For additional lifting operations, a chain hoist with a load capacity of two tons is installed in the hall and a wall-mounted slewing jib crane with a load capacity of two tons is installed outside. In addition to a wall-mounted slewing jib crane and a pneumatic chain hoist, a monorail with a load capacity of ten tons, a length of three meters and a hook path of nine meters is also used in the paint booth - the entire crane and lifting technology here is explosion-proof. The encapsulated electronics and the bronze hook of the wall-mounted slewing jib crane prevent the potentially explosive atmosphere in the cabin from igniting during crane operation.

Diagnosis from a distance

Remote diagnostics and predictive maintenance using Truconnect Remote Services from Konecranes increase the availability of the cranes and thus reduce downtime and costs.

"Together with Konecranes, we were able to optimally implement our new hall concept. The holistic view of the production and transport processes in particular has brought us a great deal," says Urs Beer, Head of Assembly at Burckhardt Compression. "With the tandem operation of the double girder overhead cranes, we increase safety and efficiency when transporting the compressors and components, for example. Overall, our new hall concept and the optimum crane solutions allow us to save up to a third of the production time."

Lena Ansorge

Contact:

Burckhardt Compression AG 8404 Winterthur, Switzerland Tel.: 00 41 / 52 262 55 00 E-Mail:

Konecranes GmbH 63303 Dreieich Phone: 0 61 03 / 73 33-0 E-mail: [email protected] www.konecranes.de