New mini crawler crane gets first chance to show its moves

With its almost zero tail swing, it was ideal for working on the college glass installation project because of the site’s highly constrained city centre location.

As a mini crawler crane, a key advantage of the Maeda CC985S-1 is its ability to operate across all types of terrain and lift large loads without the need for outriggers.

The crane can be quickly repositioned for the next lift and its 2,000kg pick and carry duty makes lifting even more flexible in constrained space.

For this project, the mini crane’s rubber tracks were ideally-suited to the muddy and uneven conditions on the site.

The Maeda crawler crane has a maximum lifting height of 16.5m which increases to 20.2m with the use of the optional fly jib. Lifting is also supported with a powerful two-speed winch with a hydraulic disc brake.

The glass panels were lifted into place using a Powr-Grip MRTA8 glass vacuum lifter, which has a maximum safe working load of 635kg.

The eight suction cup glass lifter can be fitted with extension arms for lifting larger and heavier loads. It can also be used with Powr-Grip’s Intelli-Grip load monitoring and control system for conserving battery power and improving safe lifting.

Once completed, CAPA will house a 150-seat theatre, 10 recording studios, dance studios, drama workshops, a multimedia tech suite and an outdoor amphitheatre.

It will also have a public café with outdoor terrace, along with social learning and break out areas, lecture theatres and classrooms.