Overseeing all material handling operations at Applied Aerospace is Christopher Hansen, P.E., Plant Engineering Manager. He said: “I am required to research, specify, select, approve, acquire, oversee installation and maintain equipment — pretty much everything. We build lightweight fragile composite structures, and we demand that our cranes perform flawlessly for safety and quality.”
Hansen has been working with R&M Materials Handing, Inc. distributor, CraneTech, for nearly two decades, over which time a number of installation, maintenance, repair and upgrade projects have been completed.
The Application: A 420,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility sits on a 25-acre site that centers on the movement of aerospace parts and structures via tooling carts, forklifts and bridge cranes.
Material handling equipment was required in a new building to lift lightweight spacecraft structures, weighing under 1,000 lbs. Hansen knew who to call — Dave Spears, Regional Manager — West at CraneTech.
The Challenge: Given the unique nature of the manufacturing environment, most of the loads require very specific tooling for lifting. Additionally, it was discovered only after the order was placed that a fire sprinkler pipe in the new building would present a low headroom obstruction that the crane would have to clear.
Hansen said: “We notified CraneTech, and they explained that, while we would lose a little lifting height, it was a minor and manageable adjustment.”
The Solution: To accommodate the low headroom, CraneTech modified the design to lower the main beam and not compromise the primary functions or delay delivery. They supplied R&M's Spacemaster® SX wire rope hoists; the SX4041 models were primarily 5-ton capacity and operated on overhead crane systems with spans ranging from 40 ft. to 65 ft. The equipment was specified to Crane Manufacturers Association of America (CMAA) Class C, from the standard variable-frequency drive (VFD) product line and operated by radio remote control.
CraneTech’s Spears added: “Reliability, headroom, functionality and VFD hoisting were the main reasons we started to convert them [Applied Aerospace] to R&M facility-wide, as opposed to the prior components being utilized. We started with one crane utilizing R&M components, built locally by CraneTech, and have subsequently added seven more units at various spans into buildings around the facility.”
Some of the older crane modernizations have also been upgraded to the R&M SX hoist platform.
The Results: The installation was completed on time and on budget — and performs to all requirements. Applied Aerospace’s Hansen said: “Our facility is not high speed and heavy use. The positive influence is that the crane is there, reliable and moves slow with high precision.”
CraneTech’s Spears explained that all new installations — including runway structures, American Society of Civil Engineering (ASCE) rails, and buss bars — went smoothly. He added: “Chris [Hansen] and the team have always been fantastic to work with. They know what they want to accomplish when going into these projects and the standards are set extremely high. They wanted a great product, smooth and timely installation and minimal downtime.”
Hansen added: “We are happy with CraneTech — every time, without exception. They have been great people to work with the entire time. They are customer service-focused for the entire lifecycle of their product. They respond to our needs quickly and deliver without fail. Minor issues crop up infrequently but when they do, CraneTech adapts and corrects them.”
Jason Ring, Vice President, Strategy and Operations at CraneTech, said: “CraneTech partners with all our customers throughout over 30 branch locations around the country; they all provide the same high-level of quality service and technical expertise to ensure our customers’ facilities are safe, efficient and OSHA-compliant.”