Bushman Equipment Delivers Cylinder Lifters to American Crane

Bushman Equipment Inc., a manufacturer of custom-engineered material handling solutions, recently delivered three cylinder lifters to American Crane & Equipment Corporation headquarters in Douglasville, Pa.

The below-the-hook lifters are attachments for crane systems used in the handling of waste material from a uranium enrichment process for commercial nuclear power plants.

The lifters needed to be equipped to handle two different cylinder sizes. Bushman engineers custom-designed the units with two sets of gripping legs. One set grabs from the sides of the larger cylinder—weighing 44,000 pounds and measuring 48 inches in diameter and 146 inches in length. The other set of legs grabs from the ends of a much smaller cylinder—weighing 9,000 pounds and measuring 30 inches in diameter and 81 inches in length.

“Incorporating the two functions in one lifter was the key to delivering efficient operation,” said American Crane project manager Troy Wetzel.

A harsh environment also presented another engineering challenge because one of the lifters is being used in a very hot, dry, and dusty location in the Southwestern U.S. and had to be sealed extremely well to protect the drive components. Special materials and coatings were used in order to eliminate the use of grease.