Jib crane (free-standing, wall and column mounted)

01

Size capacity, span and rotation for the mounting

Dafang lists free-standing jib cranes of 0.25–5 t with 360° rotation, Q235B steel, pre-embedded anchor bolts and a cycloidal reducer drive for powered rotation; wall-mounted jibs of 0.25–3 t with 180° rotation and no floor space needed; wall-travelling jibs of 0.25–3 t running along wall rails; and articulating jibs of 0.25–3 t with 360° rotation. [2]

Gorbel states that its free-standing jib cranes are pre-engineered for powered hoists, with a hoist weight allowance of 15% of capacity (a 1,000 lb crane allows 1,000 lb of live load plus 150 lb of hoist) and an allowance of 25% of capacity for impact caused by hoist use. [1]

Editorial calculation: with those allowances, a 1 t jib carries a design vertical load of about 1 + 0.15 + 0.25 = 1.4 t at the hook; at an assumed 4 m span that is about 1.4 × 9.81 × 4 ≈ 55 kN·m of overturning moment for the mast base and foundation, before the weight of the boom itself. [1]

Give the supplier the load and its handling (hook, vacuum lifter, manipulator), span, height under boom and lifting height, rotation needed and obstructions, mounting (floor, wall, building column), floor slab or soil details, hoist type and speed, power and control, duty, and the standards and inspection required.

02

Plan the foundation, anchor bolts or supporting structure

Gorbel's installation manual bases its jib crane foundations on a soil pressure of 2,500 lb/ft² and recommends concrete of 3,000 psi compressive strength, cured 7 days before installing the mast and 28 days before using the crane at full capacity. Its standard footings range, for example, from 4 ft wide × 3 ft deep for 1/4 t at 8–13 ft span to larger footings for higher capacities, with J-bolts cast in leaving 4–6 in. exposed, anchor bolts of grade 5 or better, and one inch of non-shrink grout under the base plate for full contact. It warns that a qualified structural engineer should confirm that the support can take the anchor bolt force, overturning moment and axial load, and that the mast must be plumbed. [1]

Editorial note: for wall and column jibs ask the supplier for the reaction forces at each bracket so the building's engineer can check the column or wall, and for free-standing jibs check whether an existing slab is adequate or a new footing is needed.

03

Portable jibs from Hiosen and Yuantai, column jibs from Eurocrane and Finework

Dafang lists free-standing, wall-mounted, wall-travelling and articulating jibs; Taian Hiosen and Yuantai add portable jib cranes; Eurocrane and Finework list column-mounted types, Kino and KS Crane pillar or free-standing and wall-mounted jibs, and DG Crane, Dongqi and Seven Industry list jibs beside hoists, overhead, gantry or KBK cranes.

Ask each of them for capacity and span, rotation and drive, hoist allowances, foundation or bracket reactions and anchor bolt specifications, and the hoist supplied.

04

Check rotation, reach, design basis and warranty on freestanding jibs

Spanco's product page for its 100 Series base-plate mounted freestanding jib cranes lists 360° rotation, capacities up to 15 tons, spans up to 50 ft and heights from the floor to the underside of the boom up to 40 ft. The base plate is secured by anchor bolts to a prescribed reinforced concrete foundation, and the pipe mast's connection to the hexagonal base plate is reinforced with six equally spaced gussets. Options include electric collector rings or an air swivel for continuous 360-degree boom rotation, rotation stops, boom locks, motorized rotation and hot dip galvanizing for outdoor use. [3]

Spanco states that its jib cranes are designed to the AISC Steel Construction Manual, OSHA 1910.179, ANSI B30.17, AWS D1.1/D1.6 and CMAA 74, with a design factor of 15% of the allowable capacity for hoist weight and 25% for impact, the same allowances as Gorbel's manual. Its warranty covers manual jib cranes for 10 years or 20,000 hours (non-wearable parts) and motorized equipment for 1 year or 2,000 hours. Ask each supplier which standards its design follows and what the warranty excludes. [3] [1]

05

Read capacity against reach, not capacity alone

A jib crane's rated load falls as the reach grows, because the same overturning moment has to be carried by the mast, base and foundation. ABUS states this directly for its range: its jib cranes lift up to 6.3 t at a reach of 5,500 mm, and to reach its maximum radius of 10,000 mm the maximum load is reduced to 2.5 t. It explains that a longer cantilever increases the forces on the crane, so capacity must be reduced at larger radii to keep the crane stable. [4]

Its product list also shows how slew range follows the mounting. The freestanding pillar cranes LS and LSX slew 270°, the heavier pillar crane VS slews 360°, and the wall jib cranes LW, LWX and VW, mounted on a wall or building column, slew 180°. ABUS says a floor-mounted jib needs a stable foundation or pad on a concrete floor or slab designed for the expected loads, and that wall-mounted jibs need walls or steel beams with the required load capacity. [4]

Editorial calculation: 6.3 t at 5.5 m is a load moment of 6.3 × 5.5 ≈ 34.7 t·m, and 2.5 t at 10 m is 25 t·m, so the longest boom carries a smaller moment, not just a smaller load. Ask each supplier for the full capacity-against-reach table for the model offered, and for the foundation or bracket reactions at the worst combination, as Gorbel's manual does for its footings. [4] [1]

06

Mast or wall bracket, boom, slewing drive, trolley and hoist, base plate and end stops

Mounting, boom and slewing rows follow Dafang's range; the trolley, base-plate and end-stop rows follow Gorbel's installation manual.

07

Capacity, span, rotation, height, drives, power and finish for a jib crane quote

Published examples come from Dafang, Spanco and ABUS ranges; hoist and trolley speeds, supply and control voltages, protection and temperature have no figure in these sources and come from the hoist offered.

08

Send the load, workstation and building data together

Paste it into your enquiry below or into an email to a maker, then replace every bracket.

Load: [weight; handling device]
Geometry: [span; height; rotation]
Mounting: [free-standing; wall; column]
Structure: [slab or soil; column details]
Hoist: [type; speed; power]
Foundation: [footing; anchor bolts; grout]
Compliance: [standard; inspection]

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