Intelligent Grabbing Technology News

Liebherr Maritime Cranes celebrated the grand opening of the new sales and service center in Durban, South Africa. The new African maritime hub was opened by a number of guests from the local industry and Liebherr representatives. Mainly as a result of the close cooperation with Transnet over the past few years, Liebherr-Africa (LAF) has decided to extend its activities and to establish a specialized maritime hub in Durban. Transnet operates more than 60 Liebherr cranes, 13 mobile harbor cranes, 31 ship to shore container cranes and 18 rubber tyre gantry cranes.

For the mobile harbour crane range Liebherr has developed an intelligent system which optimises grab filling rates in a self-learning manner. In a comprehensive study, Liebherr collected real bulk handling data of different crane models. Complex data analyses showed that – on average – only 70% of the grab capacity is used, mainly due to suboptimal grabbing angles and a varying material density. Based on these findings, SmartGrip ensures that the full capacity of the grab is utilised. By recognizing bulk density, compression and granularity as well as current frame conditions like depth of impression or type of grab, the system automatically adjusts its behaviour. As a result, this innovative system has the potential to significantly increase turnover.