12.04.2010

Second new Grove for Bauma

The Manitowoc stand will feature a 400 tonne sister crane to the new 300 tonne GMK6300 on its Bauma stand. It claims that the new GMK6400 will be the world’s most powerful six-axle all-terrain crane.

The main boom on the new crane is 60 metres, compared to 80 metres on the 6300. A 79 metre luffing jib is likely to prove a popular option. A new Mega Wing Lift – superlift device which weighs around 10 tonnes with an overall height of 2.5 metres, transports separately from the crane and incorporates a patented self-rigging system.
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The Grove GMK6400

Like the GMK6300L the GMK6400 has the new carrier cab and steer by wire controls but also includes a hybrid drive system for travel at lower speeds called MegaDrive. The company says that the system is lighter than typical drive systems, giving the crane more efficient fuel consumption, a lower center of gravity and better traction on poor surfaces.

MegaDrive powers the crane when it is accelerating to speeds of approximately 20 km/h, and then the conventional drive takes over. The system de-activates when decelerating below a similar speed and provides smooth acceleration from standstill and automatic retardation at slower speeds.

The crane is also different from the GMK6300 in that it employs a single carrier mounted engine, unheard of on this size of crane. The Mercedes OM 502 Tier 4i (Euromot IIIB) eight-cylinder engine produces 405 kW at 1,800 rpm, powering a ZF AS Tronic 12 transmission. When used for the superstructure it runs at a slower almost idle speed which according to the company means that the crane uses only marginally more fuel than the smaller second engine on the 6300.

An auxiliary power pack cuts in when the crane is on standby to run functions such as electrics, the heater or air conditioning.

Neil Hollingshead, Manitowoc’s global product director for All-Terrain and Rough-Terrain cranes, said: “We’ve concentrated on all aspects of owning and operating cranes, particularly the issues our customers care about, including fuel efficiency, versatility, reach and productivity. Above all, we focused on strength. Customer feedback told us not to compromise the load chart for a few extra metres of boom. We followed that advice, and when customers see the charts, there are clear advantages over other cranes in this class. This crane is a new design and we believe it sets new standards in heavy lifting for six-axle all-terrain cranes.”

“Our engineers discovered that smaller engines, which are typically used to power lift operations in the superstructure, use more fuel when they operate at the higher RPM needed for actions like slewing, telescoping and luffing,” he said. “Using a larger, single engine operating at lower RPM, as featured on the GMK6400, is actually more fuel efficient.”