A new crane for the LHC magnets

Five drive-steer axles, two engines with a capacity of 544 and 203 hp respectively, a telescopic boom with a 60-metre reach and a lifting capacity of 160 tonnes at 3 metres: these are the impressive characteristics of CERN's new 160-tonne crane. And the handling of the LHC magnets, each weighing a 'trifling' 33 tonnes, demands no less than this. The new crane will be required to load the magnets made in Building SM18 onto a trailer that will take them to the Prévessin site, where they will be put in storage until they can be lowered into the tunnel. The telescopic mobile crane arrived at CERN last Friday and has passed its first operating tests with flying colours.
Until now, CERN had two cranes, with a maximum capacity of 40 and 60 tonnes respectively (at a range of only 3 metres). This was not enough for the LHC dipoles, for which a lifting capacity of 40 tonnes at 12 metres is required. The new crane is also equipped with an on-board computer designed, among other things, to monitor the safety parameters. The dipoles are not only very heavy but also extremely fragile. 'The crane's acceleration will have to be limited, for example', explains Valéry Anciaux of CERN's HM (Heavy Handling and Transport) group.
This week at CERN, three crane operators and three mechanics have been learning how to operate the crane.