Hot-dip galvanizing is a corrosion protection process for steel components. With the opening of a new microZINQ® galvanizing plant, our customer introduced a powerful and resource-efficient thin-film technology to the market, which was developed in collaboration with the automotive industry. Our new conveyor technology supported the project with the most innovative crane technology and was thus able to help save zinc and protect valuable resources.
Our job was to plan, supply and commission the entire conveyor technology for the new galvanizing plant. The central piece of equipment in the conveyor system was the new galvanizing crane, which is used to immerse the steel components attached to cross beams in the liquid zinc bath (7 m x 1.80 m and 3.20 m deep). The galvanizing crane has a span of 12.40 metres and a load capacity of 2 x 3.2 tons via two permanently attached hoists. The load is lifted by means of a vibrating traverse and the Schäfer free-form hook. The vibration technology and speed control in the hoist drives ensure that a particularly light and high-quality protective coating is applied to the galvanized material.
The aim of the new construction project was to accommodate the conveyor technology in the compact area of the new galvanizing plant. The scope of delivery included several overhead cranes and transport trolleys, four pickling trolleys for encapsulated pre-treatment and a galvanizing crane. The biggest challenge here was to comply with the installation dimensions.
For the interaction with the new galvanizing crane, the installation of an enclosure crane was the ideal solution. The difference to other galvanizing systems is the enclosure that travels with the crane, which is also permanently mounted on the ground in comparable systems. The enclosure serves on the one hand as splash protection from the 420°C hot zinc bath and on the other hand as an exhaust hood for the fume emissions that are released.
The crane control system for the galvanizing crane is located in a control cabinet on the hall floor and the power supply to the crane is provided by a trailing cable system. The drive control is regulated via a frequency converter and the crane is operated using a radio remote control. To ensure consistent quality, the user can save movement sequences in individual steps using the teach-in procedure and call them up again as a complete sequence. In this way, individual sequences can be assigned to specific products. The cycle is therefore reproducible. A control panel near the zinc bath provides information on the status of the crane system and all process data. The crane control system is decentralized and communicates with all other conveyor technology as well as with all peripheral equipment, drying ovens and traverse conveyors.
The crane was positioned using laser distance sensors. The enclosure on the crane can be lowered down to the zinc bath. The galvanizing process can be safely observed from the outside through a viewing window. Depending on requirements, the enclosure can be adjusted to different working heights. The crane has two hoists that can be controlled together or individually to pick up the galvanizing traverse.
We developed a technically sophisticated solution for our customer's new galvanizing plant and were able to ensure high availability during day-to-day operations on the basis of a networked control system.
Our services: Planning, design, production, transport, assembly, commissioning Our implementation period for the complete conveyor technology: 4 months
