Crane Rail installation is an integral part to ensure a hassle-free operation while carrying heavy loads, which should be smooth and continuous. The misalignment of rails produces dynamic forces from the crane which gets magnified if the installation is inaccurate.
Choosing the appropriate rail and installing them is essential to make sure that the crane rail system has longevity. Installing the crane rails should adhere to the fine tolerances, with quality materials and optimum design utilized in the installation process.
Let’s dive deep into the processes, standards, and methods of crane rail installation in the coming sections of the blog.
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Crane Rail Installation: Standard Specifications
The crane rail installation adopts the following standard specifications:
- The extent of damage and wear must not go beyond 3mm.
- The main beam of the track and crane should align with the horn.
- The horn of every stage should hit a maximum of 20 pieces.
- The width should lie in between 10 and 20 mm more expansive compared to the bottom of the track.
- The distance between adjacent blocks should not cross 200mm.
- Firm welding of the beam is mandatory, while the fixed contact between the track part and the horn doesn’t fall below 60% of the nominal contact surface.
- The rail joint must be either a straight head or a 450 angle joint.
- The gap between the joints in the cold areas during winter should be about 1 to 2 mm.
- Once the temperature hits more than 20 degrees centigrade, the gap should fall between 4-6mm.
- The installation of the stop baffle should be made at the end of the track to avoid the crane from getting derailed from either end.
- The deviation from the geometric centreline and the exact centreline of tracks should be a maximum of 3mm.
The procedure of Installing the Crane Rails
- Drill the anchor bolts: The pre-embedded anchor bolts can be useful to implement the subsequent installation of the Iron soleplate.
- Lay the Iron soleplate: Lay it over the crane track subgrade, and tighten it using the anchor bolts.
- Crane rail clips welding: Weld the crane rail clip base over the Iron soleplate.
- Use the thermal rail welding method to implement the crane rail welding.
- Utilize the alignment tools for crane rails to balance the tolerances, and meet the crane rail installation needs.
- Place the bolts in the holes present in the base, and complete installing the crane rail clips. Fix the rail clips, nut, and slat washer to keep the rail clips adjacent to the rail.
This completes the installation procedure for the crane rails.
Various Crane Rail Installation Methods of Crane Rails
Crane Rail Clip Fixing
The adjustable clip designs facilitate only the precise alignment of rails. The design of clips also helps to carry high-end forces on the cranes on the rails. While specific types need bolting, the others need welding. The self-locking rail clips have the design to align and safely fix the rails. To prevent excessive movement, attaching the elastomer nose for rail support can help.
Hook Bolt Fixing
Crane rail hook bolts are generally used to install the rails of the gantry cranes. While one end is connected to the rail with the help of a nut, the other end remains constant on the H beam with a hook. With the hook on either side, you can let the guide rail get easily fixed across the H beam. This method of fixing adopts a light rail generally, while the lifting rail is frequently used to weld rail clamps and bolt clamps.
Welding & Bolt Joint Fixing
The mechanical fasteners of the present are usually bolts, however, the earlier structures might include rivets. Such circumstances can occur in the case of repair, retrofit, and strengthening of projects. The new construction requires welds and bolts to function together in connections. Here, the materials getting connected are initially secured using the bolts and further welded to gain a complete connection strength.
Rail Installation of Overhead Cranes
While considering the overhead cranes, paving the crane rails on supporting beams includes concrete and steel beams. Based on the overhead crane drawing, adjust the position and altitude. Before the crane rail installation, inspect the groove, its sections, the straight line, and the warp. Once they get qualified, pave the crane rail and evaluate the datum line for longitudinal alignment.
Crane Rail Installation on Supporting Beam
If the pavement of the crane rail is on the supporting beam, the distance between the centers of the crane rail and the supporting beam should result in a deviation within 10mm. While fixed on the supporting beam, the bottom of the rail should lie above the beam.
If the space is more and exceeds 200 mm, it needs padding, with a padding length over 100mm. The width should be 10-20mm wider compared to the rail bottom. Each set of pads shouldn’t exceed 3 layers. The pads should weld well to the supporting beam.
Considering the general gantry crane, the deviation between the distance of the crane rail center and the datum line should not exceed 5mm. If the crane span length doesn’t go beyond 10m, the rail center distance should follow ±3.0 mm deviation.
The crane rail connecting joint should hold a staggered distance which is not equal to the wheel gauge. You can use a hammer to correct the steel plate when it is out of shape. For the structural steel, a particular jack is used to perform the gagging. If this becomes difficult, the heat straightening method can work, but the heat temperature should not exceed 9000 C.
Implement mechanical cutting instead of gas cutting to make holes on the end of the crane rails, and connect them with clamps. Finally, pave the crane rail and install it on a supporting beam through bolting or welding, inspected with ultrasonic.
Crane Rail Installation on Concrete Beam
If the pavement of the crane rail is along the concrete beam, the top of the concrete beam should have an embedded steel plate. The crane rail should be constant on the embedded steel plate, which is similar to the rail foundation of the gantry cranes. The remaining work is the same as the above process.
Crane Rail Repair Program
Rail repair for the rail crane is mandatory for enhanced crane safety. The repair tips below can help your overhead and gantry cranes perform great.
- Eliminating the existing crane rail: Loosen the bolts and nuts to keep for reserve, and use gas cutting to cut the platens, which will be waste. Perform hoisting to lift the rail drop to the ground.
- Inspection of supporting beam:
-Evaluate the clearance room from the top of the beam to the roof bottom;
-Find the distance between either side of the beam centers;
-Check whether the beam between the supporting points goes out of shape.
- Check whether the top tread of the crane is small/deformed due to the wheel’s friction. Inspect if the crane rail is positioned straight.
- Pave the rail accurately and safely operate the cranes.
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Rail Installation & Maintenance Services for cranes from Ocean
With a team of qualified and skilled experts, Ocean excels in offering the installation and maintenance of industrial cranes. With the crane rail installation services in GCC and UAE, we hold the credibility of undertaking the work for all types of cranes. If you wish to partner with an efficient team to perform the installation and maintenance of cranes, contact us today!