The jib crane is the simplest way to serve a workstation with a dedicated lifting point: a pillar (or a wall bracket), a slewing arm and a hoist. Choosing the right model means answering four questions: how much the load weighs, where it has to reach, how the arm should slew, and what the crane can be fixed to.
1. Capacity: start from the real load
The rated capacity has to be sized on the heaviest load you will handle, adding the weight of the gripping device (clamp, vacuum lifter, lifting beam). A prudent rule is to choose the next commercial capacity up: a 500 kg crane for loads reaching 400 kg will work happily for decades.
Watch the outreach: for a given structure, the further the load works from the pillar, the greater the bending moment. Capacity and outreach therefore have to be chosen together, not separately.
2. Outreach and the area served
Measure the distance between the possible fixing point and the furthest point the hook has to reach. Typical outreaches run from 2 to 7 metres; beyond that, it is worth considering a gantry crane or a light overhead crane.
Remember that the arm slews: the area served is a circular sector. Draw the workstation in plan and check that machines, racking or columns do not get in the way of the slewing.
3. Manual or powered slewing
Up to medium capacities and normal working rates, manual slewing is the cheapest and most reliable choice. Powered or chain slewing pays off with heavy loads, long arms or repetitive cycles, where the operator's effort would become a risk factor.
4. Free-standing pillar or wall bracket
The pillar-mounted crane is fixed to a concrete footing sized on the maximum moment: it is the universal solution. The wall-mounted crane uses an existing column or load-bearing wall and leaves the floor completely clear: it does, however, require a structural check of the support.
In both cases Attollo supplies the drawings for the footing or the fixing plates together with the crane.
5. Rules and testing
Every jib crane is a machine within the meaning of Directive 2006/42/EC: it must arrive with CE marking, declaration of conformity, operating manual and inspection register. After installation the crane must be notified to INAIL and put through the required periodic inspections.
All Attollo jib cranes are designed and built in Milan, overload-tested and delivered with the complete documentation.