The new crane motion control concept with integrated drive controller for engineered crane application

Requirements of modern container terminals result in demands for sophisticated crane control and automation systems capable of handling loads quickly and reliable connection to the particular information systems. This system continuously provide up-date information about containers moves and crane status. The total function is built up of a number of distinct building blocks installed from the beginning or added on after. Many of the building blocks are tightly connected to each other to achieve the right functionality and performance. For steel mill cranes and another heavy duty material handling systems, special attention is paid to the systems robustness, reliability and availability. Generally, the crane motion control system supports positioning, brake control and other application functions. In order to achieve a number of different possibilities to solve engineered problems, the multidrive concept is applied. Mentioned concepts include: powerful process controller with advanced multitasking, capable of handling several real time critical control loops simultaneously, high speed communication links between different clients, accurate measurement and fast transmission of drive positions and speeds and centralized interface for diagnostics of the complete system. This paper presents the important features of steel mill crane motion concept with integrated drive controller (IDC) system. IDC system, based on operational flexibility through standardized hardware and software modules, offers a solution for many engineered crane application problems.