Wherever loads of up to 3,200 tons need to be moved, you are likely to encounter a crane of Mammoet in operation. The Dutch company masters the biggest challenges, and its three ring cranes of the PTC type are probably the largest of their kind worldwide. They are being used in the erection of bridges, in the transportation of whole buildings and industrial plants and also when salvaging ships on all continents.
They do not only work under constantly changing conditions, but also in most various climate zones. And it was exactly these extreme conditions that caused difficulties in the lubrication of the winch drives. At high temperatures, the oil became much too hot, at cold it was so thick that it had to be heated up. Bert Schenk, our sales partner in the Netherlands, recommended a change to ADDINOL Eco Gear 68 S-T and this solved all the problems.
Know-how, competence, experience and equipment for almost every challenge made Mammoet the worldwide market leader when it comes to the application of lifting tools. Over and again spectacular activities of the Dutch company cause a sensation.
Mammoet possesses more than 15 years of experience in the construction and use of cranes. The enormous machine fleet includes even three PTC ring cranes of the latest generation alongside much other equipment. The PTC cranes are the largest of this type currently on the market; their technical details are really impressive.
A PTC can move loads with a total weight of up to 3,200 tons into a height of 120 metres and takes only 12 minutes to do so. The safe positioning of the sky-high crane is ensured by seventy 40-feet-containers filled with sand. Depending on the job the footprint diameter lies between 45 and 55 meters. For a complete rotation the PTC takes 15 minutes. Each square metre of the crane footprint carries a weight of 20 tons.
Between three and six weeks might be necessary to take the crane from one site to the next. PTC are in operation almost all over the world. This means they must work reliably in a temperature range between -40 °C and +55 °C. However, the lubricant of the winch drives was not up to the constantly changing ambient temperatures.
At high temperatures, it was too hot, at minus degrees it was so thick that it needed heating up – this became more and more problematic. Furthermore, because of the insufficient lubrication gear damages were looming. Finally, the technicians of Mammoet approached Bert Schenk, the ADDINOL distributor partner in the Netherlands.
Since more than 20 years, Bert Schenk supplies Mammoet in Rotterdam with gear and hydraulic oils as well as selected lubricating greases for various cranes. For this reason the technicians of Mammoet know his great experience and skill when it comes to solving lubrication-related challenges and appreciate it.
After examining the case in detail and consulting the application engineers at ADDINOL in Leuna, Bert Schenk recommended changing the winch drives to ADDINOL Eco Gear 68 S-T. However, before this could be done, further consultations were necessary with the manufacturer of the drives, the Bosch Rexroth AG. After all, ADDINOL Eco Gear 68 S-T was meant to cure all difficulties once and for all. Therefore, the high-performance lubricant made in Leuna was tested carefully at Bosch Rexroth before its practical application.
The results spoke for themselves: among other aspects ADDINOL Eco Gear 68 S-T displayed a superior temperature behaviour compared to the gear oil used before. After Bosch Rexroth granted the approval for this special application, the winch drives of the three PTC ring cranes of Mammoet were changed. Now they are filled with 1,000 l ADDINOL Eco Gear 68 S-T each and have been working without any disruption or difficulty even at extreme temperatures since more than one year.
ADDINOL Eco Gear 68 S-T is a high-performance gear oil free of silicone for the lubrication of almost all types of closed industrial gears and of various kinds of toothing. It is based on synthetic components (PAO) and contains Surftec®, the active formula against wear.
Thanks to its outstanding viscosity-temperature-behaviour it has been tried and proven in cold storage houses and cold climate zones for instance. After the practical test in the winch, drives of the Mammoet PTC cranes further gears of the world’s largest ring cranes are going to be changed over to ADDINOL Eco Gear 68 S-T, the high-performance gear oil from Leuna.
