Crane control improves safety

Crane control software that brings increased safety, reliability and improved performance to industrial, harbour and tower cranes has been developed by ABB for use with its variable speed drives. Called crane control program, the software is an optional add-on for the ABB industrial drives range which extends from 0.55 kW to 5600 kW. It includes the functions required for the hoist, trolley and long travel motions in industrial, harbour and tower cranes.

At the heart of the design is ABB's motor control platform, Direct Torque Control (DTC). DTC technology allows accurate control of speed and torque with or without pulse encoder feedback from the motor shaft.