Extensions, upgrades and retrofits

Crane Drives and Control Systems (PLC) need to be updated at least once during the crane’s lifetime

• The typical lifetime of a crane drive system is 10–20 years. After this, the availability of technical support and spare parts becomes more limited, and the drive system may become less reliable.
• To achieve the full lifetime of the crane itself, the crane drive system needs to be updated at least once during its lifecycle.

ABB’s crane drives system update helps you achieve the full lifetime of your crane

• ABB’s solutions save maintenance costs and increase productivity.
• Upgrading gives access to the latest features and makes maintenance easier with faster delivery of spare parts and improved fault monitoring capabilities.

• Modern crane drives with new electrical motors also improve the energy efficiency of the crane and simplify the crane operator’s work. This improves the whole terminal’s productivity.

ABB’s crane drives and control system updates include:

• Replacing any existing DC drives with DCS880 drives or any existing AC drives with ACS880 drives. The existing electric motors can be reused in most cases.
• The existing DC drives can be replaced with ACS880 drives. This requires new electric motors and also related motor cabling.
• The existing crane control system by any provider can be replaced with AC800 or AC500 logics.
• Solutions are available for most crane manufacturers and for most crane types in container, bulk and intermodal terminals, as well as in the shipyards.

ABB recommends upgrading/replacing the crane’s drive system at the same time with other modifications and replacements, since running projects simultaneously saves costs and shortens the total crane downtime.

Energy costs form a substantial amount of the crane’s lifetime costs

• Improving the crane’s energy efficiency also improves its profitability.

Lower energy costs and more profitable operation with ABB solutions

• ABB’s Environmental Friendly and Energy Saving Solutions for cranes help save energy for a cleaner environment and lower energy costs for more profitable operations.

ABB’s solutions for RTG cranes include:

• Gpack: Two-speed Fuel Saver, which lowers the engine RPM during the crane’s idle period, saving energy and costs.

More sophisticated and comprehensive solutions for all cranes

• Energy source and storage solutions.
• Power quality solutions including Power Factor Correction (PFC) and Harmonic Filtering (HF).
• Total electricity usage evaluation and optimization regarding quality and quantity like “kWh”, “kVARh”, “Peak Demand Charges” (PDC) and “Power Factor Penalties” (PFP).

Benefits of upgrading the ABB’s Crane Information Management System

• Turnkey delivery, including engineering, mechanical and crane interface, latest software with licenses, components, installation and project specific deviations.
• Software and hardware have been tested and approved.
• Life cycle upgrades with different options:
  • Hardware upgrade according to the computers’ life cycle and retaining existing functionality
  • System upgrade including both hardware and software upgrades to the  latest CMS functionality

Load cell system is a necessity for safe crane operation

• The load cell system constantly monitors the crane to detect overload situations and helps to prevent breakage and serious accidents.
• A broken load cell which ignores correct load indications or gives false ones is a major safety risk. Constant overload also reduces the lifetime of the crane.
• Faulty or aged load cells can also create difficulties with maintenance, safety and quality concerns, and obsolescence of spare parts.

ABB provides a holistic solution for replacing faulty or aged load cells

• ABB’s solution frees terminal operator’s maintenance personnel from time-consuming and possibly dangerous adjustment and calibration of existing load cell system. 

• ABB’s Switch over contactor system contains the removal of the mechanical latch of the original ABB switch over contactor (sizes from around 300A up to 1200A).
• Typically with shared drives, e.g. Trolley / boom (engaged / disengaged & monitoring).
• The mechanical latch contactor is often replaced by magnetic contactor and rewiring, studied case by case.

Collisions are a major safety risk for harbors

• Collisions involving the crane gantry create a major risk for daily harbor operations and productivity, and personnel safety.

ABB’s Crane Gantry Anti Collision solutions improve the harbor’s safety and operations

• With enhanced system diagnostics, ABB’s solutions prevent collisions on gantry cranes in gantry direction and on RTG’s on cross travel.
• ABB’s solutions also improve the reliability of operations. Fewer unexpected failures also reduce possible crane downtime. This improves the efficiency of harbor operations.

Collisions are a major safety risk for harbors

• Collisions involving the crane booms and ships create a major risk for daily harbor operations.

ABB’s STS-crane Boom Anti Collision solutions improve the harbor’s safety and operations

• ABB’s solutions help advance the efficiency of harbor operations by improving reliability. This results in fewer unexpected failures, reducing possible crane downtime.
• Preventing crane-to-ship and crane-to-crane collisions with enhanced system diagnostics.
• ABB’s STS-crane Boom Anti Collision solutions are recommended by leading insurance company TT Club.