What factors to consider when it comes to the cost of your overhead crane control and variable frequency drives

It is crucial for business owners to invest in their overhead crane controls and variable frequency drives, ensuring long-lasting and reliable equipment. Purchasing the cheapest low-quality overhead crane variable frequency drives and controls upfront may seem like the best option; but how much will it cost you in the long run?

With repairs, increased maintenance, and the increasing cost of outsourcing labor, the overall price of your overhead crane (EOT) can ramp up rather quickly. Investing in quality equipment is more cost-effective in the long run. It is best to avoid the issue of the inevitable breakdowns of sub-par equipment. 

As a business owner, your main focus when choosing who to buy your overhead crane VFDs and control panels from should be durability, local manufacturing, and attentive customer support if it is ever required. If all of this is offered, you are sure to have a high-quality product and assistance provided if an issue arises. 

Durability

Plastic-cased variable speed drives with plastic mounting internal parts are generally made for installation on or in stationary or non-moving equipment or infrequent movement. Overhead traveling cranes have many abrupt movements all day long and sometimes for multiple daily shifts. Multi-purpose drives are not the answer. Heavy-duty shock-designed drives are your answer.

Additionally, electrically an overhead crane will see many more start-stop processes during its lifetime. These are part and parcel of overhead crane use. Daily non-stop movements back and forth and up and down. These movements, sometimes in quick reverse, will cause higher currents and increased wear on contacts and other parts. This causes higher than average currents in the equipment. 

Off-the-shelf generic drives and parts do not handle these conditions well. For example, a drive used for fan use will start up only once, see an initial ramp-up of current, and then simply run with very small starting and running currents. On a crane that is used heavy-duty and very quickly all day long, the average currents would be higher. Additionally, the heating of the electronic devices will be much greater, and the life expectancy of the drives and other equipment will be reduced. 

Temperature rating and current handling capacity are key to your installation of variable speed drives for your EOT crane or hoist.

Local Manufacturing

It is better to have local manufacturing or manufacturer-trained representatives available any time when needed. Our products meet FAR Buy American Act (BAA) USC41 standards. All PE products are designed, engineered, and manufactured in our factory in East Dundee, Illinois, USA. Your company's time and processes are valuable, therefore, it is important to consider this when specifying variable speed drives for your crane or even your hoist. Sometimes a crane or hoist is down, and your company is down. The old adage, pay now or pay a lot more later, over and over, reigns true when it comes to crane drives and controls.  

Attentive Customer Support

If your equipment should go down, who can you talk to with the technical knowledge about the drive use and repair if needed? Or if you require a new variable setting such as a speed range or amount of time to obtain full speed, settings for your pushbutton? Crane companies come and go. You need to be able to contact the manufacturer, not just a distributor. 

Working with PE Power Electronics International, Inc. Technicians and Customer Service

We provide our customers with high-quality VFDs and overhead crane controls with durability. But the quality does not stop there when working with PE Power Electronics International, Inc.

Our customer service is created to serve our clients from direct technical support, straight from the manufacturer to a service department focused on all aspects of the product. 

We offer our clients different ways to connect with our sales engineers/technicians, depending on their unique situations when they need us. You can call, email, send a contact form, or chat with us, whichever will streamline your process. You can also build quotes and purchase orders directly on our website. Our website is designed to help you with quotes or POs.

We have expert technicians available to work with you and solve any issue or doubt you might have. Our technicians will work with you to build control panels that are designed for your specific needs and environments. 

When you need to repair, the factory will directly manage the situation without dealing with intermediates. You email us, and we answer. 

The Cost of Crane Controls and VFDs

When building VFDs and overhead crane controls, you want to partner with someone that offers long-term practicality when future upgrades or replacements become necessary. Cranes are in place sometimes for dozens of years or longer. Make sure that your selection of variable speed crane drives has an upgrade path available. 

In other words, did the manufacturer think of you when designing its next generation of drives for cranes? Will the newer models be able to “fit” in the same placement in your crane controls? Will the software be compatible? Will 100% new training be needed because its new model has completely different characteristics? 

This is key to having a crane electronic system for controls. You do not want to be left in the lurch. Look for Upgrade Path, which takes into consideration software ease of use by the current employee base, easy installation, and a physical structure that allows the new model to be placed in the existing control panel without total rip up of all the existing wiring.

Upgrade-path is important along with high-grade materials that should be designed to last longer than the average/generic non-crane hoist-designed equipment. 

Takeaway 

Your investment in the present will affect the future, and the life of your equipment will be impacted by the quality of the VFDs and overhead crane controls you purchase. With PE Power Electronics International, Inc. on your crane, you are assured of long-term quality and reliability.

Invest in new technology with that in mind and save money and time regarding maintenance costs and operating expenses, giving you peace of mind in the long run. 

Contact us to better understand our products and equipment, or request a quote today!