Picture the situation: four, or even six, containers, all stacked as tall as a house. When RTG cranes load or unload container ships in port, they need to ensure high-precision performance to position and stack containers safely and stably. Position switches are used for position monitoring on the hoists of the cranes. Our retrofit project for PSA Exolgan Terminal in Buenos Aires is a prime example of why converting from mechanical cam limit switches to modern electronic position switches is a worthwhile decision.
Moving containers precisely
RTG cranes are absolutely essential in container terminals. These machines were developed specifically for loading containers. Their rubber tires make them particularly flexible and maneuverable, which is important when handling containers. At the same time, they also need to work extremely precisely and they are required to keep the heavy containers balanced while moving them. The high-precision position monitoring data needed to meet this requirement are transmitted to the rope drums by the position switches. When mechanical cam limit switches are used for this purpose, the desired precision is often lacking. Setting the switches after changing ropes can also be a complex procedure that leads to long standstills.
An electronic system solution by Hübner Giessen
Our customer PSA Exolgan Terminal in Buenos Aires experienced this exact problem with its outdated mechanical cam limit switches. We were set the task of coming up with a solution for contemporary, high-precision position monitoring on the hoist. The customer also asked us to integrate an overspeed switch and provide speed information. You can find out which electronic position switch we used to meet these requirements and what other advantages this solution offers by reading our case study on “Hoist / Drum: U-ONE provides higher positioning accuracy”.