Reel world’s largest’ crane cable order
UK based cable manufacturer and supplier Tratos Ltd has recently won what they claim is the largest order in the world for reeling cable for high speed cranes.
The Tratosflex-ESDB cable is being used in 38 ZPMC cranes at the latest Busan Port terminal in Korea. Busan Port is the world’s fifth busiest container port and the largest transhipment port in North East Asia. The Port uses the most modern facilities to enable it to handle more than 13m TEU annually through active exchange with 500 ports in 100 countries.
Tratosflex-ESDB is ideal for container cranes such as at Busan, because they operate at speeds up to 300m/m. It has been designed to combat the common problem of twisting that affects cables reeling at high speed. Twisting makes cable cores elongate unevenly which in turn leads to conductors on the outer layer of a strand to face a greater risk of being broken. A broken cable reeling at high speed is dangerous and can cause extensive and costly damage to equipment.
Tratosflex-ESDB is different from other reeling cables available in that Tratos engineers have modified the internal cable design, tightening the structure against the internal relative movement to accommodate high speed applications. A medium voltage rubber insulated and sheathed drum reeling cable, it operates in temperatures from -20ºC to +60ºC.
The cable has undergone extensive research both in laboratory and simulated working conditions. It has been used in many high speed container cranes across the world, but Korea’s Busan Port is not only the largest contract for this cable type for Tratos, but the company say it is believed to be the largest single order in the world today for reeling cable for cranes.
Tratosflex-ESDB is one of the range of cables for moving applications from Tratos, which includes mono-spiral and multi-spiral reeling, basket reeling, festoons and spreaders. The cables can supply power, control and signalling functions including fibre-optic cables and components.
