Container Crane with Long-Traveling e-chain®

Rol-energy chain reduces drive power by 75%

An igus® cable carrier system with a 1,447 ft (441m) travel is being used for two container cranes at a coal power plant in Malaysia. Coal is unloaded from ships by two large container cranes and transported the 1.2 miles (2 km) to the power station by conveyor belt. This terminal has the largest capacity for unloading bulk goods in South East Asia.

The quay of the new terminal is about 2,723 ft (830m) long and 66 ft (20m) deep, meaning large ships such as the Panamax and Capemax can dock. The container cranes unload the coal at docking stations on a man-made island situated approximately 1.2 miles (2 km) offshore. They can unload up to 1,500 tons per hour.

igus® cable-carriers were selected for the two container cranes at the terminal to supply energy and data to the trolley and cabin ride. They were installed as a fully pre-harnessed readychain® cable carrier system.

Profile

What was needed: C

Crane operator's cab: E4/4 energy chain (type 4040)
Load handling device (trolley): Rol e-chain 5050R.21/21/21.250.0, chainflex cables, stainless steel guide troughs and housing

Requirements: corrosive environmental conditions, dust generation
Industry: Crane, ship unloader
Success for the customer: complete energy supply solution from a single source, reliable solution for highly corrosive environmental conditions

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Problem

In the town of Lumut in Malaysia, the planned construction of a modern coal-fired power plant for Lekir Bulk Terminal Sdn Bhd. was a major project.

The coal for the power plant is delivered by ships. Moorings for the cargo ships have been created in an artificially created island about 2 km off the coast, which are served by two large ship unloaders for additional processing. The ship unloaders each have a travel distance of 441 and were built by the Koch company in Wadgassen, Germany.

For the energy supply system, the operator was looking for a system that could withstand the local environmental conditions and cope with the high load caused by the continuous operation of the system.

Solution

The operator finally decided on an e-chain system from igus.

Today, the crane operator's cab is supplied with a 4040 series e-chain. Due to the high travel speed in combination with the very high fill weight of 41.03 kg/m, a 4-belt chain was used for the trolley using the 2-center plate. Roller energy chains (Rol e-chain) are used here, which are equipped with stainless steel bearings to withstand the highly corrosive pollution of the sea air. The weight of this e-chain including cables is almost 2.5 tons.

The e-chains are filled with medium-voltage cables, CF Crane 50/6.6/10KV or CF Crane 35/6.6/10KV, a fiber optic cable with 6 fibers 62.5/125 and a water hose, as the dust development is constantly suppressed as far as possible with water mist when unloading the ships due to the high dust development.

Furthermore, all energy chains are completely equipped with stainless steel guide troughs and protected from the effects of the weather and high UV radiation by an enclosure.