Liebherr has unveiled a new large crawler crane, the LR 1500, which has a maximum load capacity of 500t.
The crane, launched at a 2015 customer event, will be produced at Liebherr’s Ehingen plant where it manufactures mobile tracked and wheeled cranes.
The new crane maintains the standard dimensions and component weights of the 400-tonne class, and has a 45t transport weight. According to Liebherr, compact dimensions and a low cost of worldwide transport were the main criteria for the design of the new crane.
The central crawler section with turntable weighs 55t, while a removable A-frame allows this weight to be reduced to 45t. Its transport dimension of three metres in width corresponds to the global transport standard.
The crane’s lattice boom has been designed to maximise simplicity by reducing the number of parts and component diversity. The lengths of the boom sections are 6 and 12 metres.
Liebherr is promising enormous hoist heights, with the option to install a 84m luffing jib on the up-to 84m main boom. The 250-tonne jib head on the luffing jib is also used for SL main boom operation. A 400-tonne head is available as standard for the S main boom for heavyweight jobs, which is lighter than the optional 500-tonne head.
The crane was unveiled at a Liebherr customer event in Germany
Features-wise, the standard base plates on the LR 1500 are 1.5 metres wide, broader than the base plates on 400-tonne class crawler cranes, which drastically reduces ground pressure.
The crane’s engine develops power of 350 kW, which is around the same level as engines on 600-tonne class cranes. The main hoist gear has a line pull of 180kN, enough to handle all hoists up to the maximum load capacity. This makes crane operation easier since it means that there is no need for a second winch for dual operation for heavyweight hoists. A second winch – with a line pull of 125 kN – is only needed if the crane is operated with a runner.
The crane uses 10t ballast plates, which are also used on the existing Liebherr LR 1400/2 and LR 1600/2 machines, resulting in lower costs for crane operators that have several of these cranes in their fleet.
08 Jul 2015 | Stian Overdahl
