Surface Finishes

Standard indoor crane systems are cleaned of rust and grease and then finished with primer and enamel paint.  Systems designed for outdoor and/or in extreme environments require more durable surface finishes such as standard epoxy, marine epoxy or a finish specified for a particular environment.

Radio Remote Controls

In many situations, pendant pushbutton stations are not the optimal control solution for the operator.  For example, if the load is bulky and the operator must stand further away from the crane in order to see clearances properly, or if the awkward weight distribution of the load dictates standing further away for safety reasons, radio remote controls are preferred to ‘pendants’.  Radio frequency technology has improved to the point where there are very few environments where there is risk of interference with other radio wave-dependent devices in the vicinity.  If you can provide the frequencies on which other devices are operating, NAI will program the radio remote control to operate on a ‘safe’ frequency before shipping it to you.  When providing a radio remote control, NAI’s standard policy is to provide a backup pendant pushbutton station.  

We understand that many customers already own and want to standardize on a certain brand/model of radio remote control, so we provide radio remotes from a broad array of suppliers, including:

We are able to provide radio remote controls from other vendors as well; if you don’t see your preferred brand on the list above, just ask us and we’ll be sure to include it in our quotation.

NEMA Packages

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) rates different types of electrical enclosures according to their ability to keep out dust, liquids, corrosive agents and other foreign matter.  Based on your application and environment, we will recommend a particular package of NEMA electrical enclosures to protect your crane system from damage or premature wear.

Some examples:

• Our typical designs for marble and granite fabricators include NEMA 4 packages which protect the panels from circulating dust, lint, fibers and flyings such as the stone dust that is prevalent in these stone-cutting environments.
• Our typical designs for outdoor crane systems in salt water environments include NEMA 4x packages which protect the panels from water and corrosive agents, such as the salty mist that is so common in these environments.

Travel Limit Switches

Travel limit switches prevent the hoist, trolley and end trucks from traveling too far in a direction, which could cause damage to the crane equipment, the load and/or the building.  Although physical barriers such as bumpers can also provide protection against some of these hazards, limit switches are preferred because they can be reset easily for different limits and because they provide a ‘softer’ stop than a bumper can.

• Hoist limit switches prevent the hook from lowering too far, which can cause a safety hazard, and from rising too far, which can cause damage to the hoist drum (known as ‘two-blocking’).
• Trolley limit switches prevent the trolley from traveling too far along the cross girder(s), which could cause damage to the trolley (and hoist), the load and the end truck.
• End truck limit switches prevent the end trucks from traveling too far along the runway, which could cause damage to the end trucks, the load and the building.

Aside from helping to avoid damage to the crane equipment, the load and the building, limit switches provide important safety protections for your employees, because they prevent:

• Hooks from extending too low and creating tripping hazards on the floor.
• Loads from being shaken or jarred from a high-speed collision.
• Crane equipment from incurring latent damage which could cause malfunction in the future.

Anti-Collision Devices

Anti-collision devices serve a similar function as travel limit switches, but for the prevention of collisions between various pieces of crane equipment.  For facilities that have more than one crane system on a single runway or that have multiple pieces of crane equipment operating in the same physical space (such as a monorail that travels below a bridge crane), anti-collision devices are an important safety feature.  They can be programmed to stop one piece of crane equipment if another is within a certain distance or if it detects another obstacle in its path.

Secondary Brakes

Most hoists commercially available today employ electro-mechanical brakes as their primary braking systems.  Some are offered with the option of a redundant braking system, typically a mechanical brake applied directly to the gear or drum.  Although not commonly used, secondary brake systems have a following with certain critical-lift applications such as nuclear waste handling and the handling of very high value loads.  

Guide Rollers

You may want to purchase new crane equipment to be used on an existing runway structure in your facility.  Problems can arise, however, if your existing runway is not straight and level.  If we are aware of the condition prior to designing the crane equipment, we may be able to accommodate runways that are ‘less-than-perfect’ through a combination of oversizing certain components and parts (such as motors, wheels and connections) as well as adding guide rollers which will compensate for a certain amount of ‘waviness’ in the runway.

Special Packages

In our nearly five decades of experience, we have become very familiar with a multitude of industries and know that certain industries or environments have particular needs.  We take pride in our ability to anticipate your needs and hope you view our decades of broad experience in many industries and sectors as another reason why you choose to work with us.  Picking up on the examples above (in the NEMA Packages section):

• Stone-cutting companies operate in high-dust environments, and the severity of the dust is determined by factors such as the number of saws, the size of the facility and the presence (or lack) of dust collection devices.  Based on these factors, we might recommend, in addition to NEMA 4 electrical enclosures, a dust package which includes rail sweeps and/or hardened wheels to avoid premature wear to the wheels and rails.
• Facilities with outdoor crane systems in salt water environments require not only NEMA 4x electrical enclosures, but also a surface finish such as marine epoxy paint which will withstand the salt environment and provide a longer life to the crane structure.

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