Licharz rollers

In industrial manufacturing light cranes are, in most cases, operated manually and therefore need to be particularly smooth running and easy to handle. If loads are only transported occasionally, idle times will be longer and rollers may develop flat spots; if used frequently, fast and easy moving of loads is essential. For its newly developed Demag light crane system KBK Aluline our customer Terex Material Handling therefore wanted a trolley solution that moves cranes and hoist units with as little friction as possible for breakaway force and for steady ride. We accepted this challenge and developed the perfect solution with extremely smooth running rollers out of LINNOTAMHiPERFORMANCE HPI.

The ideal material for travel rollers

"With LiNNOTAMHiPERFORMANCE HPI we offer the ideal material for ball bearing mounted rollers," says Licharz applications engineer Sascha Weber. The main difference from extruded plastics is its tough material properties: "Thanks to special additives our cast polyamide exhibits a hardness that is essential for many applications without becoming brittle or breakable." Simultaneously, the caprolactam-based polyamide is an economical alternative to laurolactam-based materials such as PA 12G.

Recoverability improves running properties

The good recovery rate of LiNNOTAMHiPERFORMANCE HPI ensures, among other things, that flat spots soon vanish during operation. "Rolling resistance is minimal thanks to the polyamide’s high crystallinity. And with a lower moisture absorption than our standard LiNNOTAM it prevents moisture diffusion in the surface layer of the material. This minimises wear of the running surface," adds Weber. Special additives also provide enhanced impact and shock resistance.

Quiet and smooth performance

"For the redesign of our KBK Aluline system we focused on minimising rolling resistance and achieving the best possible start-up resistance," says Tim Rother, Product Manager at Terex Material Handling. "We were able to implement our exacting requirements very well – also thanks to the good advice and support from Licharz, who offered us the ideal product mix." In its interaction with an aluminium profile and high-quality ball bearings HPI delivers an optimum result: "KBK Aluline’s smooth performance both in terms of start-up resistance and rolling resistance while travelling and its quiet operation make it one of the best on the market," Rother adds. He claims that the new material offers a much smoother performance than injection-moulded rollers.

KBK Aluline – ergonomic handling of heavy loads

KBK Aluline is a modular light crane system of the Demag brand for the ergonomic handling of loads of up to 2,000 kilograms. Thanks to its modular system architecture it enables the configuration of customised solutions for transport loads. For example, car manufacturers use the KBK system for serial production (in particular in final assembly), assembly personnel benefits from low travel forces and smooth running trolleys. According to the German Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA) over 23 per cent (in the manufacturing industry even 26 per cent) of all downtime in production is due to musculoskeletal disorders of personnel. Therefore manually operated crane systems need to be highly ergonomic and offer excellent smooth running properties.

More about Terex Material Handling

Terex Corporation is one of the world’s leading suppliers of crane technology with Demag industrial cranes and crane components. The core competence of the Terex Material Handling business group lies in the development, design and production of technically sophisticated cranes, hoists and components and the provision of services for these products. The business group manufactures in 16 countries on five continents and is present in more than 60 countries, reaching customers in more than 100 countries.