Manitowoc's Big New Beast of a Crawler Crane Set for Year of Testing

Manitowoc's huge new Model 31000 crawler crane is now being assembled and tested at the company's factory in Manitowoc, Wis.

The massive crane, which will lift as much as 2,535 U.S. tons (2300 metric tons), is beginning what will reportedly be up to a year of testing.

In the accompanying photo, the crane is rigged with 229.7 ft (70 m) of boom.

Its boom length ranges from 180 ft (55 m) to 344 ft (105 m).

The length of fixed (stationary) jib ranges from 78 ft (24 m) to 137 ft (42 m). The maximum-length combination of boom and fixed jib is 399 ft (122 m).

With a luffing (movable) jib, the maximum combination is 612 ft (187 m), consisting of 278 ft (85 m) of boom and 334 ft (102 m) of luffing jib.

One if its interesting features is the variable-position counterweight suspended at the back of the crane. It can be positioned at distances from 27.5 ft to 95 ft for added capacity.

Engineering News-Record's Tudor Van Hampton posted a story  and a video  about this machine while it was being manufactured.

Now the crane is together and starting to go through its paces.

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