Cargotec has launched MacRack, a new economical, competitive and environmentally-friendly electric-drive system that unites the lift and drive operations for side-rolling hatch covers and so makes separate hatch cover lifters obsolete.
The combined rack-and-pinion drive and lifter employs an enhanced control system and just one electric motor per hatch cover panel.
"This is a significant advance in electric-drive technology," said Torbjörn Dahl, Senior Naval Architect for bulk ships at Cargotec.
MacRack, like the other electric drives in the company's portfolio, provides a sustainable and efficient technological solution.
When opening hatch covers a lever mechanism converts the electric motor's rotating motion into a vertical movement, providing the lifting force needed.
When closing, the mechanism lowers the covers and pushes them together to achieve the correct amount of rubber compression and tightness.
Development work is a continuous process and does not happen overnight. Work on the electric-drive side-rolling hatch cover started in 2001 in response to the Japanese car industry's ambition to make its supply chain as "green" as possible. The company's answer to this challenge was to launch the "E-Roll" side-rolling hatch cover system.
E-Roll's components and control system were essentially developed from scratch because similar systems for the marine and bulk carrier environments did not exist. After extensive tests, the first orders were signed in 2006. Twelve ships using E-Roll systems are in service but this number is growing rapidly: another eleven shipsets of equipment are on order and about 30 more are in the pipeline.
As with all first-generation technology, improvements were needed and the development project focusing on the safety, technical limitations and cost of electric drives resulted in the launch of MacRack.
Other recent electric drive successes for MacGregor equipment includes the breakthrough order for 24 electrically-operated cargo cranes for a series of eight 16,900DWT bulker carriers being built in China for Polish shipowner Polsteam (PZM); they are scheduled for installation from the end of 2010 to 2012.
For further information contact: