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The largest self-propelled 1600*.1 crane in the world is the caterpillar SS 8800-1 Twin, made in Germany. Terex-Demag GmbH first showed its new giant crane in October 2007. Equipped with a double lattice boom, it amazes with a carrying capacity of 3200 tons. This is not a prototype but the commercial product: the company immediately received orders for three such machines.
Serial Giants
Such success is not accidental: experts have long appreciated the quality of the technology of Terex-Demag, which has half a century of experience in producing powerful cranes. Moreover, Twin in the company’s product line, strictly speaking, is not a fundamentally new machine: it is based on the CC8800-1 crane, which has already been verified by consumers, on the chassis of which there is a double set of arrows, which allowed double the lifting capacity.
Terex-Demag CC 8800-1 is one of the most powerful commercially available mobile cranes in the world. Its full-time carrying capacity is 1600 tons; the maximum cargo torque reaches 24,002 tons. The crane is equipped with the Superlift system, whose radius lies in the range from 19 to 30 m. With the “jib” lifted, the maximum boom length reaches 216 m.
In addition to the convenient function of limiting the working area and the display, which clearly shows the pressure on the ground and other important indicators, the machine has an IC-1 computer control system with diagnostics functions, which greatly simplifies troubleshooting directly on the site and minimizes downtime.
Operation of two units
Two crane drive units operate independently of each other. Moreover, the second control system is also provided – all in order to ensure maximum efficiency of work, because only working without downtime, the giant will be able to pay back faster. Our hero can continue to work, even if one of its engines or one of the two control systems fails (for example, from a lightning strike).
Despite the serious dimensions and weight, the crane, which has a modular design, is specially adapted for transportation to any point of the globe: the dimensions of individual modules do not exceed 3.5 m; almost all components weigh no more than 40 tons.
Of course, crawler cranes from Terex-Demag are something quite special, exclusive. Nevertheless: if the chassis of the serial CC 8800-1 and twice the load-lifting Twin are really the same, either in the first case it is “oversized” and designed with a large margin, and in the second case it is not reliable enough for such a super-powerful crane. However, knowing the experience and the impeccable reputation of the firm, we would venture to assume that the truth is somewhere in between. In any case, with safety in operation, and with reliability at Twin everything is all right. As for the economy, consumers of such equipment know how to calculate their costs.