Low Profile Overhead Shop Bridge Crane

[starlight_tools]

I need to put in some way of carrying items throught the shop. Most of it is light stuff, like benchtop mitre saws and planers. Also lifting items as they are assembles and putting stock onto mill/lathe and vises, Rotary table etc. Then again there may be a few times when heavier items need to be moved.


There are a few ideas out there that look neat, like this one..

http://homemetalshopclub.org/projects/crane/crane.html

And so I have been giving this some more thought.

Here is what I have come up with so far. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Standard Barn door track is rated for 400 to 450 lbs based on using a pair of carriers. There is Barn door track available from Richards Wilcox that is rated for 1000 lbs 376 series, with a pair of carriers and another the 888 series that is rated up to 5000 lbs again with two carriers. The Richards Wilcox track is not available in Canada, unless it is specially ordered and imported. It is very pricey! Ie 56.50/foot USD.

The shop is 10'-10" x 28' long and has an 8' ceiling height. There is a second room right beside it that is 10'-10 x 20' used as showroom. The headroom is very low so I can-not go with anything that will hang down very far. this eliminates 6" to 8" I beams which would be my first choice.

Walls are 2x6 construction, 16" OC with block walls on the exterior walls approx 4' high

Ceiling has 2x10 Joists, 16" OC running across the width of the room.

I need to stay 26 in from each wall the main rails, to clear cabinet doors, etc. this leaves the main rails at 6'-5" C-C. The largest free span would be 6'-2"

The air cleaner will have to be moved as it is the only thing that hangs down "too far"

The bridge would consist of two rails 16" C-C, that way the load would span at least two joists at all times. the hook point would be centred between the two rails and be as close to the top of the bridge as possible while still being able to slide under the main rails.

The rails would consist of 3x4x1/4 HSS tubing that has a slot milled on the "welded" flange 13/16" wide. these would be mounted to the ceiling joists with a pair of 1/4" thick plate hangers for each joist and bolted through the joist with 1/2" bolts. Tabs on the bottoms of the hangers would support the rail. These hangers could be welded to the rails, or left to float. But no welds would be in "shear"

The span across the front of the shop would be a second "fixed" set of rails that the trolley could be rolled off the main bridge onto to allow picking up items from the front door, with the option of a second set of rails in the show room.

Any thoughts as to where the week links could be?

Any thoughts as to how much weight this might hold?

Walter

[doubleboost]

Hi
Walter
I will be watching this as i need something for lifting moulding flasks
John

[EdK]

Nice concept Walter. We have some sharp guys here, I'm not one of them, that I'm sure will be able to chime in on the concept.

Ed

[starlight_tools]

(07-23-2012, 04:09 PM)EdK Wrote: Nice concept Walter. We have some sharp guys here, I'm not one of them, that I'm sure will be able to chime in on the concept.

Ed

Ed

Stop selling yourself short. I have admired your work for years. Probably because I recognized skills you did not even know you had.

John

Please do not hold your breathe for too long. This is one of those projects that I am sure will take a while to get off the ground. I will need to start stock-piling the steel. Then milling the slots in the HSS tubes will take a bit of effort. Almost make me want to consider that 888 track, but even wholesale discount that stuff is expensive. 4" I Beam would be a consideration but I think the HSS will look better in the long run.

This project has been fueled by a number of trips to the X-Ray departments with y/l and kids and looking at how all the X-Ray machines seem to be mounted.

Walter

[NevadaBlue]

I've admired that crane you linked to for a long time.

I set up this old antique (matches me ) to set my mill and just left it in place as a stationary overhead place to mount stuff. But one like it could be made to roll around the shop. This one was actually intended for that. It has very heavy duty metal wheeled casters. It has a WWII vintage Manufacturer's label on it. Depending on your shop layout, something like this could work too.

   

Here you can see the wheels...

   

[starlight_tools]

(07-23-2012, 07:32 PM)NevadaBlue Wrote: I've admired that crane you linked to for a long time.

I set up this old antique (matches me ) to set my mill and just left it in place as a stationary overhead place to mount stuff. But one like it could be made to roll around the shop. This one was actually intended for that. It has very heavy duty metal wheeled casters. It has a WWII vintage Manufacturer's label on it. Depending on your shop layout, something like this could work too.



Here you can see the wheels...

I have all the material to make a gantry crane sitting in the steel pile, 6" x 20 foot I-Beam and a bunch of tubing. Even have the 4 heavy duty castors. Only problem is that I have absolutely no floor space in the shop and only 8 feet of headroom. Oh and the lights hang down below that. Other problem is that my parking lot is sloped towards the road, by about 2 to 3 feet over 50 feet. Makes for interesting times.

I do have a 2 Ton Cherry Picker I made when I was in Millwright school, a few years ago (OK so more than a few years), and it does good outside. Just hook it to a winch so I can control gravity on the sloped lot.

Eventually the plan is to put a radial Jib crane in, or make a runway on either side of the parking lot for a gantry crane to travel on.

This hoist is more to wisk the small stuff and maybe not so small stuff around the cluttered shop where the mystical floor is no longer visible.

Walter

[EdK]

(07-23-2012, 07:10 PM)starlight_tools Wrote:

(07-23-2012, 04:09 PM)EdK Wrote: Nice concept Walter. We have some sharp guys here, I'm not one of them, that I'm sure will be able to chime in on the concept.

Ed

Ed

Stop selling yourself short. I have admired your work for years. Probably because I recognized skills you did not even know you had.

Walter

Walter,

You give me way too much credit, but I guess I'll take the compliment, whether it's deserved or not. I'm a hack, though I still enjoy "hacking".

Ed

[DanH]

(As to so called hacking)
It doesn't matter Ed as long as you are having fun.

[f350ca]

William
Your weak link wil be the floor joists. Especially if you bring your rails in 26 in from the walls. The bridge can be a single member if you have your wheels spread to disperse the weight on multiple joists. The wheels should be spread as much as possible to stop the bridge from skewing as you travel.
Are you going to make similar to barn door track from the 3x4 tubing?

Here is one of two I have in my shop to cover the 24 foot width. Think its 3 in I beam I used for the rails with lag bolts going through the top flange into the joists. Was a while ago I designed it but think it was 7 or 8 hundred pounds safe load with a factor of safety of 2 based on the holding power of the lag bolts. The bridge is way over rated to that, the thought being I could block the ends off the rail if I needed to lift something heavier. Could take some more photo's and measurements if you'd like.

[starlight_tools]

Greg

I was looking at your system on SFT (I think, been checking out a lot of forums lately) and it is nicely done but you have a higher ceiling height than I do.

Headroom is one of the most important factors here, with only an 8 foot ceiling height I am doing everything I can to reduce this.

Yes the plan is to make a "Barn Door Style Rail" from 4x3x1/4 HSS Tubing. I would like to go with the Richards-Wilcox 888 Tracking, but the price is very high on that stuff, Lists for $56.50 USD per Foot! Plus I have to go to the states to get it as there is no distributor for it in Canada.

I have been talking to a crane engineer who is reviewing my plans and has advised me that the "steel" portion of the crane is good for 5000 lbs. using the twin cross beams on the bridge or 2500 using a single cross beam, with standard safety margins and the longitudinal rails can be mounted with the mounting brackets/bolts etal 40 inches apart, providing the superstructure is capable of handling the weight, so we are working on the load capacity of the joists now to see if they will handle the weight.

I am planning on the dual cross member bridge as it allows me to lift the hook point up about 3" closer to the ceiling.

My plan is to mount the rails to each joist that way the load is spread more evenly over the entire joist system, not just spot loaded every 3 feet. The trolleys were made as long as possible with the bearings spread out as much as possible to get the best tracking and minimal skewing.

We have also revised the trolleys to use Cam Follower Bearing Assemblies, mounted in a staggered pattern. The Cam followers are about $ 10.00 more than the 6205 Bearings that I first planned, but they simplify the mounting as I do not have to machine up the axles and press them into the plates, instead they are held on with fine thread Nylocks.

Thanks for your input.

Walter