Alatas Service: Field Service, System Upgrades
Manufacturer: Mitsubishi
Equipment: Deck Crane
Location: Singapore
For this Mitsubishi crane hydraulic repair project, Alatas Singapore received a distress call from a stricken bulker carrying out cargo operation in Singapore waters. Deck Crane 4 was losing performance being unable to lift the full grab.
Heavy-duty grab operation causes excessive stress on crane structures, rope sheaves, hydraulic machinery and especially on crane slewing bearings. Standard deck cranes are not designed for continuous operation with a full load, for Grab operation, the maximum load, therefore, needs to be limited to 80% of the SWL.
However, most Mitsubishi cranes do not have this feature installed and operate unrestricted; which explains the proportionally large number of slewing bearing failures we see on Mitsubishi cranes.
Here at Alatas, we sell and install upgrade kits that enable the operator to select Hook Mode (100% SWL) or Grab Mode (80% SWL) using a key switch in the operator cabin.
This proactive work effectively reduces early wear on slew bearings and crane components.