May 29 - Crane Rental Corporation has helped install a proton accelerator, or cyclotron, for proton therapy cancer treatment, at the First Coast Oncology facility being built by Sauer Incorporated in Jacksonville, Florida.
The building was constructed and an opening was left in the roof just large enough for the accelerator and associated parts to be lifted in.
First a 600-tonne capacity Terex AC500-2 cranes lifted in the gantry arms and counterweights, which were installed first, before the 40-tonne proton accelerator was also lifted into the building on its frame using two 3 m slings on the top, four 6 m slings on the bottom and eight shackles.
The load was rigged with a 2.4 m spreader bar before the cargo was guided into the opening with only a few inches clearance, explained Crane Rental.
After the cyclotron had been lifted in, two 5-tonne chain hoists, six 10-tonne chain hoists and two 20-tonne chain hoists, with ten dynamometers to check the weight and tension on each hoist and the shackles, were used to rotate the gantry arms and counterweights that would hold the cyclotron at a 135-degree angle.
Constant monitoring of the dynamometers was critical in order to avoid overloading the lifting equipment or putting unnecessary strain on the gantry arm and supporting infrastructure.
The rigging also had to be repositioned several times during the movement of each component to avoid damaging the equipment, said Crane Rental.
After the cyclotron has been installed, a temporary roof cover was placed on it using chains, before a crane used a 5.2 m spreader bar, eight 12-tonne rolling blocks, 18 slings and 30 shackled to lift the 1.5 m thick concrete roof sections into place.
