Radial crane requires minimal force

Global Track  Australia has built a functional radial crane – believed to be a world first. Douglas (Greg) McKay designer and director of the company says, “I developed the radial system from needing a crane to go around a corner in my [Ningbo] China factory.

“I thought of the radial crane concept when I first developed the Global Track pivotal crane system, but I could see that there would be a frictional restriction. My latest patented development overcomes that frictional restriction. On a straight running crane (and even on the radial crane) I am now achieving a quoted effort of 6Kg to move 1000Kg.”

The minimum working radius for the radial crane system is approximately 1m to a maximum of 15m. On a 15m system Mckay suggests an inner radius of about 2 – 2.5m. The radial crane will work within the span range currently offered by Global Track.

McKay says,” My original thinking was that I would have to have a range in the middle of the bridge from where you would have to pull or push the bridge. I was surprised when the bridge moved very freely when pushed or pulled from any location on the bridge, even when moving from the very inner end overhang, the bridge still moves freely. When moving from the inner end, the outer end tends to race a bit.

“To give greater flexibility I am in the process of developing a cat head extension for the factory radial crane.”

Global Track Australia is an Australian owned and operated business established in 2005. The company continues to strive to innovate and refine its patented Global Track System.

“Another product in development,” says McKay, “ is a stainless steel clip-on strip for the crane wheel to run on when using external beams as runways, this will be made in 3m lengths or to customer requirements.

“The purpose of the strip is to reduce friction to the wheel running surface, currently we polish the steel running surface to allow the wheels to run freely, the stainless steel strip will eliminate this laborious task and give a longer lasting smooth surface.

“To maintain an efficient easy running crane we currently need to clean/polish our factory crane rails within every 12 months

Mckay has a factory in Ningbo China, where all development work is currently carried out. The company’s headquarters is in Victoria Australia.