Different Types of Electric Tugs
Electric tugs, also known as electric tow tugs or battery-powered tugs, are versatile and efficient solutions for moving heavy-wheeled loads. These compact yet powerful machines are designed to navigate tight spaces, making them ideal for manoeuvring materials in congested factories. With heavy weight capacities, electric tugs can be used to move loads weighing up to 70,000kg and beyond.
Offering a more mobile, flexible, and safer alternative to forklift trucks, overhead cranes or manual handling, electric tugs are used across industrial manufacturing industries to improve efficiency and workplace safety.
Electric tugs are available with various control options including pedestrian operated, remote control and even as autonomous Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs).
Overhead bridge cranes
Also known as overhead cranes, are the most common type of crane used in manufacturing environments like heavy plant and steel. The distinguishing feature of a bridge crane is its ability to traverse along a fixed track, supported by parallel overhead runways installed on either side of the working area.
Within the 'overhead crane' family, there are a number of different designs available, including a single girder overhead crane and double girder overhead crane systems.
Gantry cranes
Gantry cranes are similar to a bridge crane system but with a distinct difference: they are supported by steel legs on the ground rather than being suspended from a building structure. These cranes are often used in outdoor settings, such as shipping yards, construction sites, and rail yards, where overhead support might not be feasible.
Jib cranes
Jib cranes are a compact and specialised crane systems that excel in confined spaces and workstations. They consist of a horizontal arm (jib) that pivots around a vertical mast. Jib cranes are commonly found in workshops, warehouses, and assembly lines.
Electric Tug Cons
Load capacity
Most electric tugs are rated to handle a maximum load weight of 20,000kg. At MasterMover, our electric tugs can safely move loads of up to 30,000kg and beyond.
No lifting capability
Electric tugs offer an alternative approach to material handling when compared against overhead cranes. However, with a design focused on moving loads on castors, electric tugs cannot be used to lift heavy loads. Often, loads are placed on wheeled platforms by using other material handling solutions, with movement between locations then carried out through electric tug use.
Overhead Cranes Pros
High Load Capacity
Overhead cranes excel in handling heavy loads making them useful in heavy industries like construction and steel manufacturing. A wide range of cranes are available with lifting capacities up to 200 tonnes.
Vertical Lifting
Overhead crane systems offer vertical lifting capabilities, which can be an essential process in many manufacturing facilities.
Efficient in Larger Spaces
Overhead cranes are well-suited for larger manufacturing facilities with ample overhead clearance.
Overhead Crane Cons
Complex Installation
Setting up overhead cranes involves significant installation time and costs, potentially disrupting regular operations.
Limited Manoeuvrability
Overhead cranes are limited by fixed tracks. They can move loads from side to side on the lift bar tracks and lift and lower on the girders, but their design means they cannot move loads in all directions, limiting manoeuvrability.
Downtime and Availability
The fixed nature of overhead cranes can result in downtime. For example, a crane may be in use in another side of the factory. In its absence, operators must wait for the crane to become available before loads can be moved, resulting in downtime
Idle Time
Using cranes to lift heavy loads means comprehensive safety processes must be in place. If a load is being lifted, typically the area needs to be cleared to facilitate movement, increasing idle time.
Electric Tugs
Moveable by their very nature, electric tugs deliver unparalleled flexibility. They can be used to adapt factory layouts and workflows, making them suitable for dynamic production environments where material flow needs to evolve rapidly.
Boasting a scalable design, electric tugs can be used to move a range of loads, likewise additional machines can be easily integrated to meet increased production output.
Overhead Cranes
While overhead cranes provide heavy-duty lifting capabilities, their flexibility is limited. Any changes to factory layout require adjustments to the crane's infrastructure, which can be time-consuming and costly.
Before investing in an overhead crane, it’s crucial that you audit and understand future plans as any modification or change can be a complex process.
Hayward Tyler Cuts Overhead Crane Use by 50%
Hayward Tyler previously used an overhead crane to lift motors and pumps and lower them onto trestle frames. Individual or groups of engineers would then work on or add components to the motor/pump before it was transferred to a successive work station.
Transfers were frequent and would not always flow in the same direction. At sections where the two parallel overhead cranes did not meet, a forklift would need to be used to transport loads between cranes. This slowed the manufacturing process, reduced efficiency and increased costs.
Now, a MasterMover electric tug enables loads to be moved throughout the facility, increasing efficiency and delivering unrivalled flexibility.
Steel Manufacturer Reduces Lost Time with Electric Tug
A leading steel manufacturer was using a lorry to move large metal plates from one assembly building to the next as the overhead crane system was only able to transfer the plates to the end of one building.
Although the buildings were adjacent, the layout of the factory meant that work in progress was loaded onto a lorry and then driven on a mile long circuit of the plant before being unloaded in the production hall next door.
By using an electric tug, the company virtually eliminated this lost time. A single pedestrian operator could move the load between the two buildings in minutes, using the tug to move a transfer trolley.