Spider crane with searcher hook gets the load up and under

Every building has its nooks and crannies and hard to reach places – even modern Olympic swimming centres.

That is why mini cranes that can be fitted with searcher hooks are sometimes essential tools in the glass lifting armoury.

In this case, a new entrance was being installed at the London Aquatics Centre at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford. East London.

The glazing and façade installation contractor commissioned with the task faced the challenge of fitting new glazing panels beneath an overhanging roof soffit.

Searcher hook assistance

The answer was to select the Maeda MC285 CRM-2 from the Hird mini crane hire range along with the Kappel DSKE2 vacuum lifter.

The tracked spider crane can be fitted with a searcher hook. This assists lifting in areas of low headroom or under overhanging features such as roof soffits, mezzanine floors or balconies.

**Kappel DSKE2 Vacuum Lifter – Short eye hook**

DSKE2-vacuum-lifter-short-eye-hook — **Kappel DSKE2 Vacuum Lifter – Short eye hook**

Meanwhile, the Kappel DSKE2 vacuum lifter is fitted with a short-eye hook for lifting loads under the same space restrictions, making it the ideal pairing for the challenge the glass lifting team faced.

The Maeda MC285 CRM-2 spider crane has a maximum safe working load (SWL) of 2.82 tonnes, a maximum working height of 8.7m and a maximum working radius of 8.205m.

In line glass vacuum lifter

Yet it is just 750mm wide in stowed configuration so can be tracked through a single doorway.

The key feature for this project was, of course, the spider crane’s searcher hook. It has a maximum SWL of 850kg, more than enough to complete this lifting task.

The Kappel DSKE2 vacuum lifter is an in-line lightweight glass vacuum lifter with two configurations.

DSKE2 inline glass vacuum lifter — **Kappel DSKE2 – Vacuum Lifter**

In standard four-cup mode it can lift loads up to 300kg. The glass lifter can also be extended with two extra cups, increasing its capacity to 450kg.

It was this configuration that was used by the glass installation team at the London Aquatics Centre to install a long panel of glass.

Kappel DSKE2 vacuum lifter has a cabled remote control with a two-button glass release for additional safety.

It can also rotate its load through 360 degrees and tilt it through 90 degrees, aiding precise and safe glass positioning and installation with minimal manual handling.

Digital crane lifting controls

Hird customers now have the option of hiring the Maeda MC285 CRM-3 tracked spider crane – which has full digital controls, providing a range of additional options for safe and productive lifting.

The 850kg searcher hook option is also available with the Maeda MC405 mini spider crane – which in standard configuration has a maximum SWL of 3.83 tonnes.

For more information about highly flexible Maeda mini cranes and glass vacuum lifters – plus contract lifting services and accredited mini crane and glass lifting training courses – call Hird today.