Guide to Gantry Cranes for Weighing Solutions

yellow gantry cranes in warehouse

When you need to weigh heavy materials, you can’t just pick them up on your own and place them on a scale. Instead, you’ll need a crane with a high load capacity to handle the material. With gantry cranes featuring crane scales, you can quickly weigh materials and transport them to required locations. Due to their accurate measurements and ability to work quickly, gantry cranes offer weighing solution needs for a variety of industries.

As you determine the right crane scale for your needs, take a moment to learn more about how gantry cranes can help you weigh materials and the primary advantages of utilizing them.

What Is a Gantry Crane?

Gantry cranes are a kind of overhead crane featuring a single or double girder configuration. Freestanding legs, support these cranes, and they can move along a rail or track system or on wheels. Since these cranes are portable, companies can use them indoors or outdoors as needed.

While these cranes are often used for material handling purposes, companies also regularly utilize them for weighing solutions. Gantry cranes only need small adjustments before they can weigh heavy loads and deliver precise measurements.

How Do Gantry Cranes Work?

Gantry cranes feature an overhead crossbeam made to connect inverted V-shaped legs. The legs provide support for the crossbeam while the crossbeam holds various lifting devices. These lifting devices can then pick up materials, suspending them in the air for the required time. Since gantry cranes have tracks, rails or wheels, they can often move loads throughout a facility.

How Do Gantry Cranes Weigh Materials?

Many companies employ a specialized version of a gantry crane to weigh various types of materials. After a company outfits its gantry crane with a crane scale, the crane can both pick up heavy materials and weigh them.

crane scale

 

Most gantry cranes feature an integrated load sensing system to weigh materials accurately. These load sensors are made for permanent installation and integrated into the crane. Generally, integrated load sensors come in compression, load link or sheave pin designs.

Since integrated load sensors feature an integrated design, you don’t have to worry about losing head height after installation. These integrated load sensors also feature load indicators, as these devices give operators load indication and control. With these load sensors, you can weigh your loads while the crane suspends the material in the air, giving you fast results and allowing quick movement of the material after you’ve finished weighing it.

Why Choose Gantry Cranes for Crane Weighing Solutions?

Gantry cranes are well-suited for various weighing tasks. Due to their strong design and portability, you can use them in various environments and for heavy materials. They also provide several advantages that make them a popular choice for many companies.

Find out more about the top benefits of choosing gantry cranes for your weighing solution needs below:

1. Greater Efficiency

When you employ a gantry crane for weighing solutions, you can improve your company’s efficiency. If you use industrial scales for your measurements, you’ll have to load the materials onto the scale and then take the materials off with another piece of machinery. This process can take a long time and reduce your company’s productivity, as staff members will have to perform material handling and weighing tasks separately with different equipment.

In contrast, a gantry crane helps you knock out two tasks at once. A gantry crane featuring a scale allows your company to weigh materials at the same time it’s moving these materials in your facility. Due to these cranes’ dual capabilities, you can increase your team’s efficiency, quickly moving materials while still receiving accurate results.

2. High Load Capacity

Gantry cranes come with a very strong and durable design. As a result, users often employ them to lift heavy materials with ease. When your company needs to weigh heavier materials, gantry cranes allow you to gain an accurate measurement without worrying about the crane not being able to pick up the whole load.

An industrial scale with a lower load capacity can often make it so your team has to section off the loads into manageable weights for the scale. After weighing these separated loads, staff will have to add up the numbers to get the total load weight. This process can take a long time, reducing your team’s speed and raising the risk of weighing errors due to miscalculations. Since these cranes have a high load capacity, you can often weigh a larger load in one lift.

3. Increased Safety

Gantry cranes are quite durable, meaning you won’t have to worry about them buckling as long as you stay inside their maximum load capacity. They’re also straightforward to use, with options for manual and remote operation. Due to their simple operation, operators are less likely to make mistakes that could cause injuries. Additionally, if you use your cranes in potentially dangerous environments, remote operation allows you to safeguard your operators against danger.

Besides these cranes’ safe design, their ability to incorporate crane scales and deliver accurate results can keep your company much safer. For example, one of the many gantry crane uses is to weigh loads before placing them on ships, planes or trains. By knowing the weight of your loads, you can ensure your load won’t change the freight’s distribution. Since uneven freight distribution can potentially lead to accidents and injured crew members, using gantry cranes to weigh loads before transporting them can increase safety.

4. Exceptional Flexibility

Many overhead cranes need an independent support structure to hold them up and allow them to work. Since they have to be tied to a building’s structure or attached to concrete foundations, you’ll always have to bring your loads to them so the crane can pick up the materials. They’re almost always installed and used indoors, potentially impacting companies needing more versatility.

Gantry cranes, on the other hand, are much more flexible. These cranes support themselves and are often mobile. With portable gantry cranes, you can use these cranes indoor or outdoors, quickly moving them to materials you need to weigh. By having this portability, you can lift materials quickly and adjust to any new weighing needs fast.

Choose Garber Metrology for Crane Weighing Solutions

If you want to get more out of your gantry crane by outfitting it with an accurate scale, turn to Garber Metrology. We provide a large selection of crane scales designed specifically for overhead material weighing and handling. With our crane scales, you can expect to receive the most accurate measurements possible. All of our balances and scales are also backed up by a manufacturer’s warranty. Alongside our crane scale products, we can also provide professional installation, troubleshootingmaintenance and calibration services.

Review our crane scales today. If you have any questions, please free to contact us.

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