Innovation leads the transformation and upgrading of mechanical manufacturing
The main hook descends, the clamp arm closes, and the steel coil is lifted; After reaching the target position of the homework, the main hook descends again, the clamp arm opens, and the 20 ton steel coil is stably placed in the truck body, without the need for manual intervention during the entire cargo handling process. In Changyuan City, Henan Province, intelligent unmanned cranes used for lifting operations can operate all day and are suitable for harsh environments, "black light factories" and other conditions.
In recent years, Changyuan City has continuously promoted the transformation and upgrading of the lifting machinery manufacturing industry. At present, there are 114 large-scale crane equipment manufacturers and 1042 supporting production enterprises in the city, with an annual output of 300000 crane machines; As of the end of last year, a total of 6 intelligent factories and 23 intelligent workshops for crane manufacturing have been cultivated.
Intensify technological research and development
Drive product iteration
The robotic arm grasps the rib plate and accurately stands it on the main beam cover plate of the crane, sparking at the joint... The fully automatic production line is operating in an orderly manner in the production plant of Xinke Crane Co., Ltd. located in Changyuan City.
You see, with fully automated production equipment, one click operation is enough, "worker Cai Cunchao, who is operating the equipment, told reporters.
By applying this welding equipment, the welding efficiency of the main beam of the crane has been improved by nearly three times, "said Cai Xiaojie, the person in charge of the enterprise. This equipment was independently developed by the company and has applied for a patent. In recent years, Xinke Company has continuously innovated and increased its crane orders, with a total order volume of 3500 units in 2023.
In addition to innovation in the production process, local crane companies are constantly advancing in the research and development of new products.
A crane often weighs several hundred tons, and the lifting equipment shakes significantly during operation. How can the staff achieve precise control?
Entering the Experimental Testing Center of Weihua Group, Engineer Dan Yingge from the Electrical R&D Department is standing with colleagues on a simulated crane conducting experimental operations. By continuously optimizing anti sway technology, the team is working on a closed-loop anti sway system, which is expected to achieve real-time anti sway of cranes in various environments by automatically detecting and reducing dynamic interference from external environments, "said Dan Yingge.
Since 2006, Weihua Group has been developing electrical anti sway technology for cranes and has successfully achieved independent research and development of anti sway precise automatic positioning control technology. With the continuous improvement of technology, the swing amplitude of lifting equipment has been reduced by more than 95%, which is at the forefront of the world.
We will allocate 4% to 6% of our annual sales revenue to product research and development. The company has over 1400 authorized patents and will invest over 800 million yuan in research and development by 2022, "said Han Hong'an, Chairman of Weihua Group.
Taking technological innovation as the starting point and new product research and development as the driving force, accelerating product iteration has become an important measure for the development of the crane industry in Changyuan City. The local government continues to support enterprises in building provincial-level and above key laboratories, technology innovation centers, and other research and development institutions. 70 enterprises have been recognized as national high-tech enterprises, and 2 enterprises have been rated as "leading enterprises" in the provincial manufacturing industry.
Building a service platform
Improve the industrial chain
The key to the production and landing of unmanned cranes is the government's support, "said Han Zhaopeng, Vice Chairman of Giant Group.
It is reported that the Crane Equipment Expo, hosted by the Changyuan Crane Equipment Manufacturing Industry Association and organized by the Changyuan Economic and Technological Development Zone Management Committee, has been held for 8 consecutive sessions. Han Zhaopeng said that through the exhibition, the Changyuan Development and Reform Commission actively facilitated cooperation between Giant Group and foreign technical teams to develop unmanned cranes, while also providing opportunities for foreign markets to fully understand the company's products.
Entering the Giant Group factory, Han Zhaopeng pointed to a small screen on the lifting equipment. Don't be fooled by this crane overload limiter, its function is crucial, "he explained." Once the crane experiences overload, the overload limiter will immediately cut off the power supply to ensure the safety of equipment and personnel
How to purchase supporting equipment? "The reporter asked.
Two kilometers away is Hengda Electromechanical, and now supporting equipment can be purchased within the park, which is very convenient, "said Han Zhaopeng.
The park mentioned by Han Zhaopeng is a specialized park for lifting equipment. In March 2022, Changyuan Economic and Technological Development Zone introduced manufacturers of supporting equipment such as crane overload limiters and reducers to invest in building factories, transforming the park into a highly concentrated and well connected crane machinery manufacturing base.
We came to Changyuan to invest in building a factory, and what we value is the industrial chain agglomeration benefits here. In the park, we deeply cultivate and excavate our products, and can deliver them to downstream production enterprises on the same day, "said Xu Jin, the person in charge of Henan Hengda Electromechanical Equipment Company.
As of now, in addition to sheet metal, more than 20 types of products involved in crane production have supporting production enterprises in the lifting equipment professional park, including 126 main beam manufacturing enterprises, 15 reducer production enterprises, and about 150 motor production enterprises. The park has formed a relatively centralized layout, with complementary products and a relatively complete lifting industry chain from design, manufacturing to installation and after-sales service.
Promote cross-border integration
Accelerate the implementation of applications
Scan the QR code, select the parking space code, and the three-dimensional parking lot will start operating. In less than two minutes, empty parking spaces will arrive in front of you. The intelligent three-dimensional garage of Changyuan People's Hospital covers an area of 882 square meters and provides more than 300 parking spaces, designed and built by Weihua Group.
In the past, crane equipment was mostly used in the industrial field, and we have been exploring more life application scenarios, "said Liu Yonggang, Chief Engineer of Weihua Group. Mechanical parking equipment belongs to the sub project of lifting machinery, and its technical principles are the same as cranes. Weihua Group promotes cross-border integration in different fields by integrating existing technical resources.
The latent AGV (Automatic Guided Vehicle) equipment is an intelligent handling robot independently developed by Weihua Group. The equipment can carry a single product of 1000 kilograms and can run at a speed of 1.2 meters per second under load. It is mainly used for the transportation and picking of whole pallets of goods. Both handling robots and cranes belong to the category of special lifting equipment. We integrate crane manufacturing technology into robots to ultimately achieve the application of logistics scenarios, "said Liu Yonggang.
Under the guidance of digitization and intelligence, the crane industry has achieved joint development with multiple industries, and more lifting equipment has also realized multifunctional applications in emerging scenarios.
Guide the new energy heavy-duty truck to accurately stop at the designated location of the battery swapping station, start the battery swapping robot, grab the battery and place it in the charging slot, then grab the fully charged battery and load it into the truck. In less than 5 minutes, the new energy heavy-duty truck completes the battery pack replacement. In the past, it took five to six hours to fully charge a new energy heavy-duty truck; Nowadays, battery replacement can be quickly completed through unmanned battery swapping stations. No more mileage anxiety! "Said Zhang Baojun, a driver who came to Xinke Company to transport goods.
Once, while communicating with drivers of new energy heavy-duty trucks, Cai Xiaojie found that drivers often experience range anxiety while driving, but the batteries of new energy heavy-duty trucks are bulky and heavy, making them extremely inconvenient to transport. After a year of hard work, Xinke Company has developed a heavy-duty truck swapping station, integrating heavy-duty truck charging equipment with intelligent lifting robots to achieve efficient and convenient battery replacement.
The heavy-duty truck swapping station is suitable for short distance transportation scenarios in industries such as ports and mines. The swapping station uses sensing devices and intelligent control systems to achieve autonomous obstacle avoidance, automatic lifting, and precise positioning of lifting robots, ultimately achieving fully automatic unmanned battery replacement and alleviating users' range anxiety.
We will continuously adapt to the trend of deep automation and intelligence in logistics, broaden the application fields of the crane industry, develop new application scenarios such as automatic conveying and sorting systems, vertical circulation and other types of three-dimensional garages, and continuously enhance industrial competitiveness, "said the main responsible comrade of Changyuan Municipal Party Committee.