Work in confined spaces is a tricky discipline in modern tunnelling. While technological advances have given the contemporary engineer cleaner and more advanced equipment, a deal of the nous and lateral thinking experience that comes from regularly solving confined working challenges has disappeared from the industry.
Recently, some advances in knuckle boom cranes have been made that the tunnelling industry may be interested in. And one manufacturer, Hüfferman, is interested to know if its product, which it calls its ‘e-crane’ would be useful in underground settings.
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Knuckle booms
Knuckle booms are a type of crane with a boom that can articulate in the middle. The resulting available motion makes the apparatus look like a finger, so the articulation joint is referred to as a ‘knuckle’. This allows these types of crane to get around objects and work in awkward environments.
Knuckle boom cranes can traditionally be ordered in various configurations, manufacturers fitting a boom to an existing chassis and so on. Customisation has been quite high.
The Hüfferman offering is an electric crane that is compact, and while the company has some optional extras it thinks would be useful for tunnelling (camera systems and radio remote control for unmanned operation, an individual emergency stop function and an explosion proof electrical system for hazardous areas) the basic model is set. The crane is 1.99m wide, 5.6m long and 2.95m high. From this, the maximum extension of the boom is 29.1m with 15 degrees of articulation. The maximum lift capacity is 10,400kg at a 4m extension or 2,500kg at 2m. At the absolute maximum extension, lift capacity is 800kg.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataDevelopment
The model was designed to work in industrial environments, such as automotive plants, food processing facilities and refineries. But the company has had its sights set on the tunnelling market as well, albeit without any success so far.
On the history of the product, Hüfferman’s Daniel Janssen says: “The process began in 2011. We were noticing a lot of difficult assembly jobs [which require time-consuming dis- and re-assembly] and limited time was available to our customers. Additionally, enhanced environmental and energy guidelines, as well as a stronger commitment to worker health and safety were becoming evident. Our customers did not want to use internal combustion engines any more. So our assembly manager, Herbert Maack, suggested that we build an electrical crane ourselves to gain a competitive advantage and fulfil all our targets and requirements.
We built up a project team of engineers and practitioners to work on a prototype. In 2012 testing and development began and in 2014 we built the first unit for sale.”
They decided to ditch additional power packs, size being the more important factor, and improved steering from the prototype, achieving 270 degree steering. They also added a “pick up and carry” option that works up to 8t.
