An engine crane (also referred as engine hoist [1] ) is a common repair tool used in vehicle repair shops to remove or install gasoline or diesel engines in small and crowded vehicle engine compartments. It uses a heavy cantilevered support structure to hold the engine in mid-air so that the mechanic can carefully connect or disconnect fragile hoses and wires on the engine to the frame of the vehicle.
The engine crane is commonly used in combination with the engine stand so that the removed engine can be rotated in midair to provide access to underside surfaces of the engine.
Engine cranes are typically mounted on large casters so that an engine can be lifted straight up out of an engine compartment and then rolled away from the immobile vehicle frame.
Most engine cranes are equipped with a telescopic boom which can be extended to reach engine blocks located further into the engine compartment. At the end of the boom there is a grab hook where lifting chains, slings or a load leveler can be attached for lifting purposes.
Engine cranes/hoists have three commonly used types: hydraulic hoists, chain hoists, and electric chain hoists. [2] The type of engine crane is chosen based on the amount of weight the user is lifting, cost, and convenience.
The most commonly used engine crane is the hydraulic hoist. [2] The simplicity of a hydraulic hoist also makes this hoist the most economical engine crane. A hydraulic hoist is generally made of an adjustable arm, hydraulic jack, frame, and a set of legs. The crane arm, with multiple lengths and weight capacities, has a hook on the end that connects a chain to the engine. The arm of the hydraulic engine hoist raises and lowers with the use of a hydraulic jack, which is operated with a bar that pumps the hydraulic jack to raise the arm. To lower the arm, pressure is released from the hydraulic jack. [2] To support the hydraulic arm, a frame with a set of legs stabilizes the weight of the engine. Most hydraulic engine cranes have casters, which help to efficiently relocate the engine crane. [3]
Chain hoists are ceiling-mounted engine cranes that are often slower than hydraulic hoists and electric chain hoists. [4] Chain hoists utilize a system of gears and chains to multiply forces that are produced when the operator is pulling the chain to lift the engine. A braking system prevents the engine from unintentionally lowering by the user. [3] Chain hoists are often inexpensive and easy to operate but do require the chain hoist to be mounted, unlike a movable hydraulic hoist. [5]
The electric chain hoist, also known as the "electric hoist", is the least used type of engine crane. The operation is similar to the chain hoist in the way that chains are used to lift the engine. The electric chain hoist uses an electric motor operated by remote control to lift the engine, unlike the chain hoist where the operator has to manually pull a chain. [6] Although the electric chain hoist is faster in operation, this hoist is also more costly than a chain hoist. [4]
A military engineering vehicle is a vehicle built for the construction work or for the transportation of combat engineers on the battlefield. These vehicles may be modified civilian equipment or purpose-built military vehicles. The first appearance of such vehicles coincided with the appearance of the first tanks, these vehicles were modified Mark V tanks for bridging and mine clearance. Modern military engineering vehicles are expected to fulfill numerous roles, as such they undertake numerous forms, examples of roles include; bulldozers, cranes, graders, excavators, dump trucks, breaching vehicles, bridging vehicles, military ferries, amphibious crossing vehicles, and combat engineer section carriers.
A skid loader, skid-steer loader or skidsteer is a small, rigid-frame, engine-powered machine with lift arms that can attach to a wide variety of buckets and other labor-saving tools or attachments.
A forklift is a powered industrial truck used to lift and move materials over short distances. The forklift was developed in the early 20th century by various companies, including Clark, which made transmissions, and Yale & Towne Manufacturing, which made hoists. Since World War II, the use and development of the forklift truck have greatly expanded worldwide. Forklifts have become an indispensable piece of equipment in manufacturing and warehousing. In 2013, the top 20 manufacturers worldwide posted sales of $30.4 billion, with 944,405 machines sold.
A winch is a mechanical device that is used to pull in or let out or otherwise adjust the tension of a rope or wire rope.
A crane is a type of machine, generally equipped with a hoist rope, wire ropes or chains, and sheaves, that can be used both to lift and lower materials and to move them horizontally. It is mainly used for lifting heavy things and transporting them to other places. The device uses one or more simple machines to create mechanical advantage and thus move loads beyond the normal capability of a human. Cranes are commonly employed in transportation for the loading and unloading of freight, in construction for the movement of materials, and in manufacturing for the assembling of heavy equipment.
A loader is a heavy equipment machine used in construction to move or load materials such as soil, rock, sand, demolition debris, etc. into or onto another type of machinery.
A dragline excavator is a piece of heavy equipment used in civil engineering and surface mining.
A sidelifter is a specialised vehicle or semi-trailer used to hoist and transport ISO standard intermodal containers over longer distances.
An aerial work platform (AWP), also known as an aerial device, elevating work platform (EWP), cherry picker, bucket truck or mobile elevating work platform (MEWP) is a mechanical device used to provide temporary access for people or equipment to inaccessible areas, usually at height. There are distinct types of mechanized access platforms and the individual types may also be known as a "cherry picker" or "scissor lift".
A dump truck, known also as a dumping truck, dump trailer, dumper trailer, dump lorry or dumper lorry or a dumper for short, is used for transporting materials for construction as well as coal. A typical dump truck is equipped with an open-box bed, which is hinged at the rear and equipped with hydraulic rams to lift the front, allowing the material in the bed to be deposited ("dumped") on the ground behind the truck at the site of delivery. In the UK, Australia, South Africa and India the term applies to off-road construction plants only and the road vehicle is known as a tip lorry, tipper lorry, tipper truck, tip truck, tip trailer or tipper trailer or simply a tipper.
A tow truck is a truck used to move disabled, improperly parked, impounded, or otherwise indisposed motor vehicles. This may involve recovering a vehicle damaged in an accident, returning one to a drivable surface in a mishap or inclement weather, or towing or transporting one via flatbed to a repair shop or other location.
A derrick is a lifting device composed at minimum of one guyed mast, as in a gin pole, which may be articulated over a load by adjusting its guys. Most derricks have at least two components, either a guyed mast or self-supporting tower, and a boom hinged at its base to provide articulation, as in a stiffleg derrick. The most basic type of derrick is controlled by three or four lines connected to the top of the mast, which allow it both to move laterally and cant up and down. To lift a load, a separate line runs up and over the mast with a hook on its free end, as with a crane.
The Saipem 7000 is the world's third largest semi-submersible crane vessel, after the SSCV Sleipnir and the SSCV Thialf. It is owned by the oil and gas industry contractor Saipem S.p.A.
A gantry crane is a crane built atop a gantry, which is a structure used to straddle an object or workspace. They can range from enormous "full" gantry cranes, capable of lifting some of the heaviest loads in the world, to small shop cranes, used for tasks such as lifting automobile engines out of vehicles. They are also called portal cranes, the "portal" being the empty space straddled by the gantry.
A loading dock or loading bay is an area of a building where goods vehicles are loaded and unloaded. They are commonly found on commercial and industrial buildings, and warehouses in particular. Loading docks are part of a facility's service or utility infrastructure, typically providing direct access to staging areas, storage rooms, and freight elevators.
A hoist is a device used for lifting or lowering a load by means of a drum or lift-wheel around which rope or chain wraps. It may be manually operated, electrically or pneumatically driven and may use chain, fiber or wire rope as its lifting medium. The most familiar form is an elevator, the car of which is raised and lowered by a hoist mechanism. Most hoists couple to their loads using a lifting hook. Today, there are a few governing bodies for the North American overhead hoist industry which include the Hoist Manufactures Institute, ASME, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. HMI is a product counsel of the Material Handling Industry of America consisting of hoist manufacturers promoting safe use of their products.
The Meillerwagen was a German World War II trailer used to transport a V-2 rocket from the 'transloading point' of the Technical Troop Area to the launching point, to erect the missile on the Brennstand, and to act as the service gantry for fuelling and launch preparation.
Hydraulic hooklift hoists are mounted on heavy duty trucks to enable hauliers to change out flatbeds, dumpster bodies, and similar containers. Primarily used in conjunction with tilt frame bodies and specialised roller containers, generally designed for the transportation of materials in the waste, recycling, scrap and demolition industries, as well as for disposal of construction debris.
Material handling equipment (MHE) is mechanical equipment used for the movement, storage, control, and protection of materials, goods and products throughout the process of manufacturing, distribution, consumption, and disposal. The different types of handling equipment can be classified into four major categories: transport equipment, positioning equipment, unit load formation equipment, and storage equipment.
A bulk-handlingcrane is one that, instead of a simple hook that can handle a range of slung loads, has an integral grab for lifting bulk cargoes such as coal, mineral ore etc.