Custom Adjustable Lifting Beam for 20,000 lb Rotors

Problem:

The customer intended to use their 35-Ton crane and hoist for lifting the 20,000lb discs onto a rotor shaft. However, the part had to be heated to 1,000 degrees F. It was determined the heat transfer would destroy the bearings in the bottom block of the hoist. Also, because the customer was performing a compression fit onto the shaft by heating the disc, they were limited on time. This meant that the disc had to be perfectly level to get onto the shaft and there would be no time to set the part down to rig it up again. This last minute information put the customer in scramble mode, as we had two weeks to build a tool to lift these discs.

Solution:

Between our Structural PE and our mechanical engineers on staff, we came up with a solution that would allow the customer to quickly level out the part while handling the high temperatures it was putting off. We developed a custom Chromoly steel pin to attach to the disc while it was being heated. This attachment was designed to take the high heat, and would allow the customer to attach the rigging to the part very quickly just by simply hooking onto the top of the Chromoly pin. From there, we used 47,000lb chain slings to allow for the dissipation of the heat before it could get to the bottom block of the 5 Ton CM Cyclone hand chain hoists. The 5 Ton hand chain hoists allowed for the part to quickly be tilted one direction or the other so that it could slide on the shaft without interference. Due to the high temperature the tool could be seeing, all welds were dye penetrate tested, and a load test was performed to ensure the structural integrity of the system.

End Result:

The customer received a complete working tool that was fully load tested in 2 weeks. This solution prevented the customer from delaying the project, and left them with the flexibility they needed to install the discs quickly and efficiently.

Tri-State Overhead Crane is can provide custom lifting beams; serving clients from coast to coast, Canada, Mexico and especially focused in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, South Carolina, Florida, and Oklahoma.