Liebherr's lift planning with a twist

With its new Crane Planner 2.0, Liebherr offers the latest planning software for its crawler crane portfolio, LR 1100 – LR 1300. The new system assures accurate lift planning and increases safety for heavy lifts, according to the company. Liebherr contends that this new software takes the company from an equipment manufacturer to a fully integrated system supplier.

“Job site installations can be very challenging for planners and engineers,” said Wolfgang Pfister, head of strategic marketing and communications for Liebherr-Werk Nenzing. “Lack of space, difficult soil conditions or limited crane capacity are all relevant factors. In such situations, Crane Planner 2.0 is the ideal tool for selecting the perfect equipment for the particular application.”

This saves both time and money, and it ensures that safety standards for challenging heavy lifts are observed, Pfister said.

Crane Planner 2.0 combines highly detailed, interactive 3-D models with all relevant planning data, based on the machine’s load moment limitation, according to Liebherr.

Any change in the crane’s geometry instantly triggers a new calculation of the entire situation. The software displays a warning should it recognize potential collisions between the crane, the load and the surrounding area or non-compliance with safety distances.

Additionally, typical dimensioning such as lifting height or radius can be activated and user-specific dimensioning (in both metric and imperial units) can be defined accordingly.

As such, this application is the ideal tool for all planners and engineers who demand both up-to-date as well as accurate 3-D models of the utilized crane configuration, Pfister said.

The possibility to supply any configuration of all supported cranes in all positions is unique to Liebherr, he said. Crane Planner 2.0 also has new features for easy selection of the optimum crawler crane for the job.

Quick reconfiguration

By means of the Quick-Config, the person developing the lift plan can quickly reconfigure various dimensions of the crane during the lift planning process, (for example length of the main boom from 194 feet to 223 feet) and have the system recalculate the entire lift. The program was designed for intuitive handling and helpful support features.

Within the Crane Planner 2.0, the Rigging Editor enables the generic definition of lifting accessories. The lift planner can choose from six different templates and has the ability to define customer-specific heights, lengths, widths and weights of the lifting devices involved, according to Liebherr. Based on such specific criteria, the system calculates the resulting angles and lengths taking into account the originating geometry for the evaluation of potential collisions.

Any planning data like the load capacity (including individual load charts for all angular adjustments), ground pressure distribution and specified geometric information can be exported in a lift plan for each defined work step. Additionally, technical drawings from all perspectives, including the activated dimensioning, can be exported into PDF format. Dimensioning functions as well as various import and export options are targeted at the tasks of planners and engineers, according to Liebherr. A comprehensive search function is well suited for project managers and sales executives.

“The new Crane Planner 2.0 is notably faster and considerably more user-friendly than the preceding version,” said Pfister.

In addition to Crane Planner 2.0, Liebherr has recently introduced its new positioning system LIPOS to the market. Exact positioning and precise execution of drilling processes are crucial for the success of deep foundation machinery. While thousands of satellite-supported systems are in operation, Liebherr’s LIPOS positioning system allows for direct integration of Differential Global Navigation Satellite Systems (DGNSS) machine control solutions from Trimble or Leica into the process data recording PDE and reporting systems PDR.

The LIPOS add-on kit includes a fixture for the easy and quick installation of two GNSS antennas, mounted on the pivot point of the leader inclination cylinders.

On the software side, DGNSS data are integrated using a software enhancement of the process data recording system. LiDAT data transmission enables automated transfer of PDE data via GSM and GPRS to the reporting software PDR for visualization and analysis purposes. Reports generated in the PDR system are used for traceability, documentation and quality assurance of drilling processes.

With the launch of the new Crane Planner 2.0 and the LIPOS add-on kit, Liebherr has added further value to its crawler crane portfolio and its deep foundation machinery, Pfister said.

“As a system supplier, Liebherr utilizes crane data to support operators facing the choice of the most suitable machine for a particular job or in determining the accurate position for drilling purposes,” he said. “And with further IT tools for simulation purposes, transfer of crane data or the recording and analysis of crane performances, Liebherr sets the pace for the way to the digital construction site.”