At Richmond Engineering Works, we can upgrade barge haul systems to accurately position barges so that handling costs are reduced while barge throughput is increased.
Our engineers can design a new drive system which will give operators a state-of-the-art system for positioning barges. No matter what configuration your positioning system is, we can upgrade it with the latest technology; increasing your productivity. With all the variables involved, river current speed, water level fluctuations, harsh environments, etc., our upgrades will be engineered and tailored to meet your specific requirements. The new system will be able to vary the speed of the barges, yet maintain the line tension required.
Upgrades and Features May Include:
- Upgrade existing brakes with self-contained, three-phase AC hydraulic thruster actuated drum brakes to eliminate cable slipping and the difficulty in finding available parts for the existing brakes.
- Benefit:
- A simple size, one electrical starter only, is now required to activate the brake. DC resisters, rectifier, timers and contactors are removed and are no longer required to be maintained. There are less mechanical parts on the new drum brakes then often found in multiple disk style brakes; therefore, reducing maintenance costs.
- Installation of our barge haul custom programming injunction with new inverter rated motors and variable frequency drives, eliminates cable shocks and slacks normally found when running two speed motors for barge movements.
- Benefit:
- Premature cable and sheave failures are reduced due to eliminating the cable dragging in the water or snarling onto unintended equipment during operation. The drive and motor combination allow for steady acceleration and deceleration of the barge with no cable slack or shocks on either barge end. Barges can be tightly held to the dock cell by utilizing a zero speed drive regulation.
- Our engineers will design and procure new mechanical drive equipment, often times with adapter plates to fasten directly to existing foundation bolts, to eliminate mechanical gears, bearings, sheaves and drums that have reached the end of their designed life.
- Benefit:
- Maintenance costs will be decreased while increasing machine longevity with the installation of the new mechanical drive equipment.
