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D O W N LO A D

Methods For Squaring Overhead Cranes

By

Paul G. Kit
Simmers Crane Design & Services
Cleveland, OH
June 1, 2003

Over time, it is not uncommon for an electric overhead traveling crane to develop
tracking issues. These issues typically manifest themselves as screeching of the wheel flanges,
excessive wear of wheels or rails or a tendency for the crane to bind or climb the rail head.
Sometimes the problems are due to settlement of the runway structure or movement of the rail
system relative to the girders. Often the root cause of the problem is a change in squareness of
the crane. It is important to understand that an effective work plan can only be established by
accurately measuring key, characteristic dimensions and analyzing the results.
The necessary steps involved in correcting tracking problems include measurement,
analysis and remedy. Generally, it is quite simple to take span measurements between the rails
in the problem areas. This can be done with a steel tape or laser electronic distance measurement
(EDM) tool. If the span of the rails is found to be within +/- 1/2 inch of nominal, it may be
regarded as acceptable. Crane Manufacturers Association of America (CMAA) Specification
#70, Association of Iron and Steel Engineers (AISE) Technical Report No 6 and the Metal
Building Manufacturers Association (MBMA) offer guidance for rail alignment tolerances. (An
excerpt from MBMA is in the appendix. The practicality of achieving these tolerances after
initial construction must be considered uniquely for each application. Therefore, if the rails are
in acceptable condition and the crane is having tracking problems, you should consider a survey
of the existing conditions on the crane for squareness. The components that contribute to
squareness include:

Bridge Girders
End Truck to Girder Connections
Wheel Alignment
Proper Wheel Installation
Pivot or Bogie Pins

The interrelation between physical dimensions, perpendicularity, parallel and straightness must
be analyzed to develop a practical, feasible and economical work plan.

Measurement of character dimensions is accomplished by utilizing survey techniques.

(See Addendum # 1) A transit, laser level, rotating laser, EDM or several other types of devices
are suitable for this work. Baselines forming a U shape are to be constructed around the
stationary crane. Baseline X or Z is to be established along either end of the crane by
measuring dimension A or B along the pitch radius of the two furthest track wheels. Using a
transit, swing 90 degrees to establish baseline Y. Move the transit to the other side and line up

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transit, swing 90 degrees to establish baseline Y. Move the transit to the other side and line up
along baseline Y. Swing 90 degrees to establish the third baseline. Using these baselines, take
measurements to the wheels, bearing housings, as required. Always measure to machined
surfaces using level and/or perpendicular lines. It may be necessary to drill witness holes in the
outside web plate to measure to the inner wheels. It is important to measure the wheel distances
in both horizontal and vertical planes relative to the baselines.
The simplest method to take a quick measurement of squareness involves the use of a
plumb bob. You hold the plumb bob at the pitch diameter of each of the outer wheels. Use a
metal punch to transfer the mark to the top, centerline of the rail head. Once all four corners are
scribed, the crane is moved. Take measurements using steel tape or EDM between the marks,
across the bay and across the diagonals. This will give a good overall view of the cranes
squareness. If there are significant differences (i.e. greater than ) in the diagonals, a further
analysis may be advisable.
Many cranes have permanent squaring marks in four places on the bridge girders. One
good method is to drill punch mark holes and encircle them with steel washers welded to the
girder for protection. These four points allow you to measure diagonals, distances between spans
and distance between punch marks. It is common to line these marks on the inner edge of the
girder and go from near the girder end to approximately half crane span. After initial erection,
these marks may lose their significance if other impact damage causes permanent deformation of
the structure.
Using a steel tape or EDM, measure the span across the bridge on both crane girders.
Nominal span is generally given as the dimension between centers of rails or wheel treads. Most
often, you will need to measure between machined surfaces and calculate the distance to centers.
The general concepts of measuring from baselines to wheels, end trucks, bridge girder
diagonals, and spans apply to nearly all cranes regardless of the number of wheels. (See
Addendums # 1-3) The more dimensions taken, the more detailed the analysis may be. It is
useful to create a drawing with dimensions to be measured noted and labeled. In tabular format,
the surveyor may then measure and record dimensions with little room for misinterpretation.
Once the measurement data is obtained the analysis may begin. Resolution of the
problems discovered will vary distinctly depending upon size of crane, wheel and girder
arrangements and budget. Some possible resolutions follow below:

Improper Wheel Assembly : Many problems are simply the result of improper assembly
or installation of wheels. Wheels sometimes have an offset hub. If installed backwards,
the span will be off. (Appendix Sketch #1) If a wheel assembly has spacers and they are

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put in the wrong location, span will change. (Appendix Sketch #2) If a tapered wheel is
installed backward, then tracking will be very poor. (Appendix Sketch #3) If drive
wheels are not properly matched for diameter, then they will turn at different speeds.
(Appendix Sketch #4) The enclosed example demonstrates that as little as a variation
in diameter can cause the ends of the crane to travel at speeds differing by 4 ft/min. This
skewing causes wear and binding.
Wheel Misalignment:
Some wheel misalignment problems are caused by worn
bearings. If the wheels and bearings have not been changed recently, this presents a
prime opportunity.
Sometimes the housings need to be bored out and corrected with
mounting holes reamed to assure proper fit.
End Tie Connections :
If the diagonals are not equal, then girder alignment may be
necessary. If the end tie bolt holes have worn into oval shapes or if the bolt shanks have
worn, then it may be necessary to replace the bolts with the next size larger along with
aligning and reaming the holes. This is generally an engineered repair.
Pivot Pins:
If bogies, end trucks or saddles are out of alignment, it may be due to
excessive wear. It may be necessary to remove the pivot pins, bore out the pivot and
install new bearings or bushings as required.
Collision Damage : If the crane was involved in a collision with another crane or
against the end stops, alignment could be affected if the reaction forces were not equally
applied to the bumpers. It may be necessary to replace the end tie bolts with reaming or
mechanically straightening damaged members.
Improper Runway Stop Location : Believe it or not, it is not that uncommon to find the
runway crane stops located improperly. If they are not even across the runway, then
when the crane impacts the stops, it induces a bending moment into the structure.
(Appendix Sketches #5-6) It is acceptable to make adjustments to the position by
welding shim plates to the striking surface of the stop.
Wheel float: The width of the wheel tread should always be greater than the width of
the rail head. CMAA and AISE TR#6 both provide guidance for allowable wheel float.
This extra space provides a bit of forgiveness to compensate for some variations in rail
span and crane alignment. Mill cranes typically have no less than 1 7/16 of float.
There are a lot of variables that affect the tracking of a crane. By collecting accurate

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There are a lot of variables that affect the tracking of a crane. By collecting accurate
dimensions of the components, properly analyzing the causes, developing a detailed work plan,
most crane tracking problems can be resolved economically. Consideration should be given to
the crane system on the whole. Fixing only the runway, but not squaring the crane may make
things worse. Additionally, squaring the crane and ignoring a defective runway may not deliver
any improvements. It may be advantageous to replace entire bogies, wheel assemblies or end
trucks to minimize downtime. Then, the parts taken out of service can be reworked without the
rush from a breakdown. Addendums # 1-3 include tolerances for building and erecting a new
crane. Generally these tolerances are on the order of +/- 1/8. When evaluating a crane that has
been in service for a while, this tolerance is often reduced to +/- .
For the correction of tracking problems, the best return on investment is often the data
collection stage. Taking good, reliable measurements will allow the engineer to determine the
root cause for the poor performance. Evaluation of the entire crane system will help to generate
a step-by-step procedure to correct the misalignments. Careful planning with common sense

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