Mammoet has unveiled two heavy lift crane designs, as part of its Mammoet Focus crane concept.
Mammoet and Stoof Engineering and Innovation (Stoof E&I) unveiled the Focus concept in September 2016, as HLPFI reported here, and claims that the new type of heavy lift crane will revolutionise the way plant owners and EPC contractors think about construction efficiency, plant maintenance and turnarounds.
Following the concept announcement, the Netherlands-based firm conducted further consultation with its customers, leading to the development of the A-Frame Focus and the Y-Frame Focus.
The A-Frame is designed to lift much heavier and larger modules in confined spaces, says Mammoet, bringing greater efficiency, project optimisation and time saving benefits.
The Y-Frame will combine greater lifting capability, versatility and reach and will be capable of lifting machinery in plants with complex infrastructure and space limitations.
"It's ability to be built up vertically and manoeuvred with flexibility in very limited or congested areas will have a powerful effect on the efficiency levels of plant upgrades, maintenance and turnarounds," says Mammoet.
The mast sections of the Focus concept are assembled from separate chords and braces, which allows for larger dimensions in width and depth, creating stronger masts and greater lifting capacity. At the same time, Mammoet says the assembly method still allows for efficient, containerised transport and the separate chords and braces can easily be moved on site without interrupting productivity.
Focus is designed as a vertically self-erecting crane, based on the principle of an extension ladder. The crane can be built up to a height of 200 m on a small surface. The Y-Frame Focus will only require a 22 m x 22 m surface.
Due to the self-erecting principle, the back mast can be built up at the same height or even higher than the main boom. This can increase the lifting capacity for long back mast length and the overall versatility of the crane.
Meanwhile, the jib is integrated into the design of the main boom in such a way that the Focus can switch from a fixed boom to a luffing jib configuration without re-assembly.
According to Mammoet, work is under way on the calculations for the concept and the company expects to have an investment decision this summer. While the timescale of production at this point is still ambiguous, Mammoet says the Y-Frame Focus r crane could be launched in late 2019 or early 2020, provided the investment decision later this year is positive.
