Category Archive: Featured Products
Hollywood glamour isn’t just for the stars. Some of our favorite flicks feature hard-working cranes and hoists, both on and off-screen. Check it out!
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Director: James Cameron
Year: 1991
Notable Scene: In the iconic final scene of the second Terminator film, the T800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger) sacrifices himself for the good of humankind in spectacular, tear-jerking style: by being lowered into a vat of molten, flaming metal by Sarah Connor — on a chain hoist using a pendant station.
Did you know? The steel mill used for shooting had been closed for over ten years, but the effects were so convincing that some of the plants former workers thought it was up and running again. (h/t IMDB, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103064/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv)
Jurassic Park
Director: Steven Spielberg
Year: 1993
Notable Scene: No one wants to get close enough to turn into the raptors’ dinner. As per the original park design (raptors being contained in an enclosure, that is), the feeding process involves a live cow being lowered into the pen by an overhead crane —and only the mangled below-the- hook equipment returning.
Did you know? According to Fandango, the price tag on a bonafide real life Jurassic Park is $23,432,400,000 in USD. That includes $200,000,000 a year for dinosaur food. (h/t IMDB, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107290/trivia)
Tommy Boy
Director: Peter Segal
Year: 1995
Notable Scene: Tommy Callahan III, Chris Farley’s ill-equipped auto parts factory heir, makes an excellent impression with his karate skills — on a series of moving monorail cranes.
Did you know? Reuniting a team of talent from “Saturday Night Live,” the film is stacked with Easter Eggs and references, including Marquette University (Chris Farley’s real-life alma mater) and a preview for Naked Gun 33 1/3, another film by director Peter Segal. (h/t IMDB, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114694/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv)
American Crane’s Star-Powered Inventory
With decades of experience connecting business in a wide range of industries with cranes for almost any application, American Crane has seen it all. Contact us today to find out how we can provide you with the cranes you need…even one with a star-studded Hollywood pedigree!
American Crane and Equipment Corporation was recently contracted to build a critical lift crane. We produced a customized 25 Ton Top Running Double Girder Crane, which was installed at the Kennedy Space Center and used to build the Orion spacecraft.
This crane was not only a critical lift crane, but it was also a clean room crane.
Clean Room
A clean room is a manufacturing environment that, because of product requirements, must be kept as free from environmental pollutants as possible. Industries that commonly have clean room requirements include the electronics, food, beverage, pharmaceutical, and, as was the case with the Orion spacecraft, aerospace industries.
The food, beverage, and pharmaceutical industries produce products that are ingested by humans, so those products must be contaminate-free. Products produced in the electronics and aerospace industries are sensitive and could fail if exposed to contamination during production.
Because freedom from contamination is so important to the products developed in clean rooms, all equipment introduced into clean rooms — including critical lift cranes — must comply with strict clean room standards.
American Crane’s Clean Room Features
To meet NASA’s stringent clean room standards, American Crane designed their critical lift crane with these special features:
- All fasteners are stainless steel and self-locking to ensure that no bolts or debris fall from the crane
- The walkways are equipped with continuous kick plates to capture any dirt or debris
- Stainless steel diamond-shaped track is used with the festoons to eliminate places that debris could gather
- The runway conductor bars are covered in extruded plastic to prevent debris from escaping
- There is a debris shield underneath the lower block to prevent any wire rope debris from reaching components of the Orion spacecraft
- All electrical enclosures are shielded to ensure that no RFI or EMI reach the spacecraft
- All axes of movement have extremely slow speeds, less than two inches per minute, to allow for the successful mating of critical components without risk of collision or damage
- The crane control system utilizes a “watchdog” PLC system that checks each movement against what the operator commanded and stops erroneous motion.
For more information about American Crane and how we can custom build cranes that meet your clean room requirements, contact us today.
When you have an aerospace critical lift that could impact your project or the environment, it’s doubly important to follow all the proper procedures for safety and compliance. Many people are unsure of the exact legal requirements and the best way to ensure compliance. Here is a brief rundown on managing critical aerospace lifts.
Identifying Critical Lifts
A lift is considered critical if it has one or more of the following characteristics:
- If loss of control over the lifted item could invoke a declaration of a site emergency per the governing regulations such as NASA-STD- 8719.9.
- If the item to be lifted is vital to the project schedule or irreplaceable.
- If the item is lost during the lift, the resulting impact on cost or schedule might jeopardize program commitments.
- If the lift occurs in close proximity to items that fit any of the definitions in items 1 through 3.
- If the load exceeds 80 percent of the crane’s capacity, it is critical. If two cranes are used and the lift weight exceeds 75 percent of the rated capacity of one of the cranes, it is also considered critical.
Aerospace Critical Lift Requirements
If your planned lift fits into any of these categories, you are required to take certain safety precautions. The precautions may vary depending on the characteristics of the lift, but almost every aerospace critical lift will require specific safety precautions.
Lift Supervisor
This person is responsible for ensuring that every member of the lift team understands their role and has the proper training. The Lift Supervisor must also confirm that the equipment has been properly inspected and has the right safety ratings to safely carry out the lift plan.
Safety Representative
The Safety Representative cannot be the same individual as the Lift Supervisor. The Safety Representative is responsible for reviewing and checking all inspections, the lift plan, and must be on site during the lift to monitor the process and ensure adherence to the plan.
Critical Lift Plan
The Critical Lift Plan includes both a Hazard Report and a Lift Procedure. The entire team, but especially the Lift Supervisor and the Safety Representative should be familiar with the details of the plan.
Safety Review Meeting
Before undertaking the lift, the team must hold a Safety Review Meeting to ensure that all team members have a firm grasp on their roles and all lift procedures. The meeting can be held up to two weeks prior to the lift for very complex lifts, but two to three days is more common.
Equipment Requirements
For aerospace critical lifts, you must use equipment rated to handle the necessary load plus a margin of error. The equipment must meet these requirements whether it is leased or owned and must meet minimum load rating for every item used in the lift, including rigging, jigs, cables and hoists.
American Crane Aerospace Equipment is designed to meet the requirements of aerospace critical lifts. American Crane Critical Lift Cranes are designed for durability, reliability and safeguarding equipment during lifts and to comply with appropriate industry guidelines. With over 40 years of experience designing and building the industry’s most respected cranes, American Crane products offer custom design and fabrication and a complete in-house quality assurance program to comply with standards. Before shipment, all cranes are completely tested and fully assembled to meet CMAA duty cycle requirements.
Inspections
You must have certificates of inspection and original rating certificates for all equipment. These should be part of the Lift Plan and reviewed and validated in the Safety Meetings.
If you are responsible for managing a project or program that may include an aerospace critical lift, consider working with the experienced team at American Crane. Our team of experts provide high quality equipment, safety and reliability in every aerospace critical lift.
Innovation at its best!
The Boeing Custom Underhung Crane System
CHECK OUT… our new video!
American Crane’s 4000 lb High-Density Stacker Crane System improves productivity using only a single operator. Four (4) motion motorized movement makes this system user-friendly. On-board operator’s safety cage, precise spotting (due to maximum stability) and mast mounted flood light for floor illumination are just a few of this system’s features.
To view our 4K Mobilstack web page click here OR for more information contact us via email at sales@americancrane.com or call us direct at 1-877-877-6778.
Notable Scene: No one wants to get close enough to turn into the raptors’ dinner. As per the original park design (raptors being contained in an enclosure, that is), the feeding process involves a live cow being lowered into the pen by an overhead crane —and only the mangled below-the- hook equipment returning.
Clean Room
