Case Study

Single-Girder Stacker Crane Doubles Capacity Without Rebuilding the Facility

Industry: Raw Materials

When a major refractory manufacturer needed to replace its aging 7.5-ton single-girder stacker crane, the challenge went beyond capacity. The new crane had to double the lifting capacity to 15 tons while fitting within the same building envelope, positioning close enough to two molten refractory furnaces to accept pours, and operating nearly 24/7 in an extreme environment. A standard double-girder stacker crane was not an option: the center mast configuration would not fit within the existing facility and would have required a cost-prohibitive structural redesign of the building.

Han-Tek engineered a custom 15-ton single-girder stacker crane that fit the constraint and met every operational demand. Before delivering the new crane, Han-Tek upgraded the existing runway girders and columns to handle the increased wheel loads of the larger system. The completed crane moves along a 100-foot runway between two furnaces, uses a fork-mounted mast carriage to pick up and transport silica molds standing up to 10 feet high, and cycles through several pours per half-hour, handling molten refractory heated to up to 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

Their Challenge:

An aging 7.5-ton single-girder stacker crane was nearing the end of its useful life, requiring excessive maintenance, and could no longer handle the larger furnace-lining refractories increasingly demanded by the competitive glassmaking industry
A standard double-girder stacker crane was not feasible: the center mast configuration would not fit within the facility’s existing envelope, and any building modification to accommodate it would have required a cost-prohibitive structural redesign
The new crane had to reach into the area adjacent to two pivot-mounted furnaces, pick up offset loads (silica molds up to 10 feet high), and cycle reliably through several pours per half-hour with molten refractory heated to up to 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit
The system needed to operate nearly 24/7 across two shifts with minimal scheduled downtime for maintenance

Our Solution:

Engineered a custom 15-ton single-girder stacker crane with a streamlined profile that fits inside the existing facility and positions close enough to both furnaces to accept pours, eliminating the center mast that makes double-girder cranes infeasible in constrained spaces
Upgraded the existing runway girders and columns prior to crane delivery to handle the increased wheel loads of the larger system, avoiding any need for building modification
Equipped all crane motions with remote-mounted variable-frequency drives and fiber-optic cable for motor-feedback data, enabling soft starts, torque proving, and load float that extend brake and mechanical component service life
Programmed the hoist controls to deliver full torque to the braking system prior to every brake release for automatic brake adjustment verification, and integrated a slack cable detection system to prevent operator error when lowering the carriage
Provided operator control through a festooned pendant station and two pedestal-mounted control stations at the furnaces, and trained two full shifts of operators for safe and efficient operation

The Results:

Expanded product line: The customer can now supply larger furnace-lining refractories to the glassmaking industry, capturing market share that was not accessible with the 7.5-ton crane.
No building redesign required: The single-girder design fit within the existing facility without structural modification, avoiding the cost-prohibitive building redesign that a double-girder solution would have required.
Several pours per half-hour: The crane handles the complete pour cycle along a 100-foot runway, cycling between two furnaces and managing the mold fill-and-exchange sequence multiple times every 30 minutes.
Durability and reduced maintenance: VFD-enabled soft starts, torque proving, and load float reduce wear on brakes and mechanical components, with routine maintenance limited to lubricating moving parts and inspecting wire rope and bearings.

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