Dutch mobile folding tower crane manufacturer Spierings Mobile Cranes has launched its first hybrid electric crane, the SK487-AT3 City Boy in response to the increasing number of cities around the world banning vehicles with diesel and petrol engines.
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The City Boy concept was conceived seven years ago, but it has been completely redesigned since its initial offering.
The mobile tower crane has a lifting capacity of 7 tonnes at a radius of 11.96 metres. At its maximum 40 metres radius, it has a lifting capacity of 1,700 kg.
Source: KHL
However, the maximum load chart is only available in a 210° region on one side of the crane due to the offset location of the slewing ring. It has been offset to accommodate the self-erecting tower and cab.
For the remaining 150° of the slew ring, it can only achieve a lifting capacity of 1.35 ton at a maximum 40 metres radius.
As explained by Spierings, the crane is intended to be used in a space-constrained urban environment, it is sufficient since it is meant to be used on just one side.
In order to navigate through narrow city streets, the crane has a compact chassis of 2.5m wide, 13.1m length and 4m in height. The gross vehicle weight is 36 tonnes and three all-steered axles.
The SK487-AT3 City Boy can be set at four different height of 21, 24, 27 or 30 metres and has a high erecting curve and jib can be unfolded through 360° (all direction). With the luffing jib at its highest 45° elevation, the maximum below hook height is just over 55 metres.
At the same time, Spierings has redesigned many key elements of the City Boy compared to its other tower crane designs. These include a new tower and tower head design., as well as a new outrigger system that offers a much wider extension than previous designs.
A distinctive new cab design sees a new truck cab offer better operator comfort and also functions as a crane cabin and elevator, with the ability to rotate 90°.
The plug-in hybrid eDrive capability has been achieved by using a drivetrain with a 370 kW electric motor from Finnish electric drivetrain specialist Visedo and a battery pack from French lithium-ion battery systems specialist Forsee Power. There is also a small, 170 kW John Deere diesel engine which can be used to drive the crane on the road between jobs or to charge the battery pack via a generator. Using an onboard charger, the crane can be plugged in by cable to site power for battery charging or crane operation.
So far, orders for the new City Boy have already been confirmed by Dutch company M. Verschoor and UK firm City Lifting.
Also, during the hybrid crane launch, company head Leo Spierings has announced that he has sold all of his company shares to his nephew Koos Spierings, whom now owns 100% of the company shares. However, Leo Spierings will still remain as head of the Spierings crane empire.
