Sway Control limits load swing by controlling the acceleration and deceleration of the bridge and trolley, enabling faster load handling and more precise positioning. The operator can use full crane, trolley, and hoist speeds even while driving close to the structure. With Sway Control, one can pick up a 60-ton die and take it where it needs to go with no hesitation, no load swing, and no overshoot.

Active Sway Control automatically eliminates load swing during crane operations. Based on the continual measurement of the rope angle, it fine-tunes the operator’s speed commands and stabilizes load movement in both trolley and bridge travel. Minimal load sway throughout the duty cycle improves operational safety, load cycle times, ease of crane operation and less wear on crane components.

Shock Load Protection is designed for smooth load pickups and to prevent shocks to the load and the crane. It is a feature of Konecranes Variable Frequency Drives for hoist control. If load is picked up too fast, the hoisting speed is automatically reduced until the load is in the air. This protects the crane, the load and the structure to which the crane is attached from extra stress. With this automated feature, the operator can focus on controlling the load, monitoring his or her environment and ensuring that the load remains secure.

Snag Prevention constantly monitors the rope angle to assist in safe crane operation and stops trolley, traverse, and bridge travel when necessary. It will also stop the crane from moving if the load catches on an obstruction. The operator can see what’s happening through a camera interface.

Protected Areas can be used to assign spatial parameters for crane operation, automatically limiting crane movement to designated working areas only. Managers can pre-program no-go areas to keep the crane from going where it shouldn’t. This maximizes crane operation space while helping to reduce the risk of accidents, equipment collisions and load damage.

Target Positioning moves the load from one of eight home positions to one of 120 pre-defined target positions. The operator dials the location of the die on a radio control, pushes a button, and the crane drives to that location to pick up the die, reducing work cycle times and the risk of human error in repetitive operations.

Hook Centering helps eliminate side pull, using an infrared camera system to automatically center the hook over the load before lifting is allowed. Hook Centering is based on measurement of the rope angle and activates if the angle exceeds a preset value when the hoist starts to lift a load. When the die gripper is coupled, the active load sway damping system ensures that the load can only be lifted when it is directly vertical under the trolley. The vertical angle as well as the rotation angle are determined by a camera-reflector system and compensated by the control system.