Bulk and Grapple Cranes for Bulk Handling
From gravel to sand to wood chips, loose and dry materials of all kinds must be carefully managed by proper machines specially engineered for bulk material handling. The American Crane and Equipment Corporation offers a full range of bulk handling crane, hoist, and lift solutions for a wide range of industries, including waste management, smelting, and food and beverage.
Bulk bucket cranes and grapple cranes are two of the most popular models for bulk handling. Both types can be fully customized to meet specific facility needs.
What is Bulk Handling?
Whether being done in ports, paper mills, or utility plants, effectively managing bulk dry materials demands high-performance solutions. New engineering and technology are rapidly simplifying the process: In ports, large quantities of raw materials are managed with continuous ship unloaders in place of gantry cranes, while advanced bulk handling systems can now be custom designed to fit specific manufacturing facilities.
These new systems allow for fully integrated bulk transport, storage, inventory control, and discharge within a processing environment; bucket and grapple cranes provide critical, high-capacity lifting support.
Bucket and Grapple Cranes for Bulk Handling
The heavy loads handled in steel mills, machine shops, and other large-scale manufacturing require tough, reliable material handling solutions. Heavy bucket and grapple cranes are particularly useful in managing these demanding loads.
Bucket cranes, or heavy dumping buckets, can safely handle capacities of up to several thousand pounds. Constructed of hot-rolled steel, the MIG-welded bucket body provides strength and durability for the lifting process. Critical reinforcement is also added in wear zones, allowing the bucket to handle even the roughest cargo.
These buckets are designed with an easy dumping release, with the weight of the loaded material pushing the forward roll of the crane’s bucket to dump the load. This weight-distribution-based design means that the empty bucket automatically rolls back to its upright position and locks into place after emptying, ready for the next fill. Foundries, manufacturing plants, steel mills, and wastewater treatment plants all rely on bucket cranes.
Grapples are attached to the hook of a crane for maximum grip or hold on a load. Using two or more levers to grab and secure a load, grapples are well suited for handling a wide range of cumbersome materials, such as rocks, scrap metal, and waste. Grapples are particularly useful in paper mills, logging, and forestry, as well as recycling, aggregate management, and shipping applications.
Bulk Handling Solutions at American Crane
The American Crane team has over 45 years of experience in scrap handling, C&D sorting, and bulk material handling applications. Our equipment easily meets CMAA duty cycle requirements, standing up to the most severe working conditions around the world.
From ¼-ton hoists to equipment with 1,000-ton overhead lifting capacity, our bulk material handling solutions offer reliable, consistent performance. Every piece of equipment can be built to meet service classifications A through F and comes fully assembled and pretested.
To learn more about bulk handling and discuss how our custom crane and hoist solutions can benefit your next project, contact us today.
