List The Different Types Of Gantry Cranes

Gantry crane is a type of overhead crane that is similar to a bridge crane with a single or double girder configuration supported by freestanding legs that move on wheels or along a track or rail system.

These are widely used when lifting is required without the cost of building or supporting steelwork. The term "gantry crane" is often used in the material handling industry.

Gantry cranes are usually considered when there is no reason to incorporate an overhead runway system. Cranes use legs to support bridges, trolleys, and hoists. These legs move on tires and rails embedded in the floor or ground.

It is flexible in its design because it doesn’t rely on building supports and can be designed to be mobile; there are some things you’ll need to consider if you want to utilize a gantry crane in your facility.

Here some of the various types of Gantry Cranes are listed:

1. Full Gantry Crane Systems:

Full gantry crane systems are the most popular configuration, consists of two legs which ride on a rail that is embedded flush with the top surface of the floor. These cranes normally run in a straight line in the particularly dedicated areas only.

This design allows motorized equipment like scissor lifts, forklifts, carts, and trucks to roll over it and cross through underneath the crane.

2. Semi-Gantry Crane Systems:

Gantry cranes can also be designed with one leg riding on wheels and are advantageous when you have a very little workspace. This setup doesn’t require two runways supported by or tied back to building columns like bridge cranes.

3. Portable Gantry Crane Systems:

Portable gantry cranes are smaller and lighter in weight and they run on rubber wheels or casters. When they’re empty and not under load, they can be moved or stored anywhere throughout a shop or into different work cells to offer greater space-saving and floor space flexibility. 

4. Adjustable Gantry Cranes:

These cranes can be designed with variable height and span design and allow the user to adjust the crane according to the requirement. When transporting a gantry system in and out of a facility or through different areas of a shop.

5. Rubber Tired Gantry Cranes:

Typically these cranes are wheeled with rubber tires. Cause of this structure; these cranes do not require a rail for mobility. These are usually smaller than the other gantry cranes which enable the rubber tires to handle their load.   

Uses of Gantry Cranes in the Industry:

1. Gantry cranes are commonly used for heavy fabrication applications, or in some type of outdoor yard—rail yards, shipping and container yards, steelyards, and scrap yards.
2. Gantry cranes are the ones that are usually deployed in the shipbuilding industry.
3. There are small-sized cranes which can be used to lift the automobile engines from the vehicles.
4. The small-sized gantry cranes can be used in the manufacturing units. They will help in moving the parts from one place to another. There will be a requirement of heavy weight lifting objects all the time. These cranes will help in the lifting process.