5 minutes - magazine 01 | 2023
LR 12500-1.0: The game changer
In our last edition we featured a photo of the impressively wide HighPerformanceBoom to announce the LR 12500-1.0 – the Game Changer. So what makes a genuine “Game Changer”?
The first two LR 12500-1.0 machines off the production belt will go to Sarens and Mammoet. The crane could not appear the Bauma due to its size, but its hook block was THE highlight at the Liebherr booth.
Mega crane with the ultimate boom concept
It consciously enters uncharted territory. It puts an end to conventional mechanisms and replaces them. It features an innovation that changes the market. And the new Liebherr LR 12500-1.0 certainly does all of that! A uniquely wide boom and the specially designed T-shape turntable make up the centrepiece of this powerful-2,500 tonne machine. The countdown to the delivery of the first gigantic crane is running – time to present this new powerful Liebherr crawler crane in more detail.
The rules and jobs of the everyday “game” in which cranes are involved are changing – the market requirements for large crawler cranes in the petrochemicals industry and for port handling work, involving massive components for offshore applications, are on the rise. Driven by the energy revolution, particularly for handling offshore wind turbines, the components are getting continuously heavier and larger. Liebherr has accepted these challenges and reacted by designing a crawler crane whose innovations open up a whole new dimension.
Peerlessly wide boom – maximum capacity with HighPerformanceBoom
To develop a genuine game changer, the Liebherr designers had to ignore conventional methods and step into uncharted territory. The solutions to date have been a double boom like the PowerBoom or the widespread SX systems. However, the Liebherr designers chose a completely different route for the LR 12500-1.0. They developed a 7.5 metre wide powerful lattice boom which enables the LR 12500-1.0 to set new standards.
The first two LR 12500-1.0 machines off the production belt will go to Sarens and Mammoet. The crane could not appear the Bauma due to its size, but its hook block was THE highlight at the Liebherr booth.
This HighPerformanceBoom gives the crane the power and stability of a PowerBoom whilst also reducing its weight. It is the key to the high lifting capacities of the powerful 2,500 tonne machine. “The next logical step after the PowerBoom and the SX boom was to develop the HighPerformanceBoom. With this development, the forces from the whole width are transferred into the slewing platform”, explains Klaus Huberle, Head of Technical Sales Crawler Cranes.
But how do you get such a wide boom into the slewing platform? What has now become a public secret is the “T shape slewing platform”, which, when viewed from above, actually looks like a giant “T”. The boom is attached to the wide front section. This is positioned on a low loader lengthways for transport. The bolted rear section is just 3.5 metres wide.
The LR 12500-1.0 will supplement our portfolio of lattice boom cranes between the 1,350 tonne LR 11350 and the LR 13000 which has a lifting capacity of 3,000 tonnes. This powerful crawler crane has a maximum hook height of 200 metres when used with a luffing jib. Another special feature is the modular design of the boom. The length of the boom can be varied by flexible assembly of ten metre lattice type sections.
Smart solution for economical transport
Liebherr came up with something very special to enable such a wide boom to be transported economically – simply fold it up! However, this requires a sophisticated mechanism. The folded ten metre boom sections are then unfolded again on site and assembled using a special device. This stabilises the lattice type sections during the assembly process. As far as the dimensions are concerned, they were based on the container concept.
We believe that this design will change the design of crawler cranes forever. A genuine Game Changer!
“We have had the idea before of building folding sections to create particularly wide booms. But up to now, we have not been able to do so practically. The system we use for the LR 12500-1.0 means that we have now developed a brilliant solution”, adds Huberle. “We believe that this design will change the design of crawler cranes forever. A genuine Game Changer!”
This article was published in the UpLoad magazine 01 | 2023.
