Wall-Mounted Jib Crane

Overview

A wall-mounted jib crane is a cantilever arm fixed to a wall or building column that swings a load through an arc to serve a single work area. It is the simplest form of overhead lifting: a horizontal boom carries a hoist out from the wall, the boom pivots so the load can be swung sideways, and the hoist raises and lowers within that reach. Because the wall takes the loads, the crane needs no floor space and no foundation of its own, which makes it the natural choice for a machine cell, a loading bay, or a workstation along a building wall where a full overhead bridge would be wasted.

The crane is held by the Wall Mounting Bracket bracket, the Cantilever Boom reaches out from it, the Pivot and Slew lets the boom swing, the Electric Hoist does the lifting, the Hoist Trolley carries the hoist along the boom to set the reach, and the Electrical and Control system powers and commands it all.

Mounting and load path

Everything about a wall jib comes back to how the load reaches the building, so the Wall Mounting Bracket is the most heavily engineered part. A Mounting Plate spreads the loads across the wall or column, and the boom pivots between an Upper Pivot Bracket and a Lower Pivot Bracket. The load hanging out on the boom creates a bending moment that the brackets convert into a horizontal pull-in at the top bracket and an outward push at the bottom, so the top bracket pulls on its Anchor Bolt anchors while the bottom one bears against the wall. Stiffening Gusset gussets stiffen the brackets so they do not flex under that moment. Sizing the anchors and confirming the wall can take the reactions is the central design task for a wall jib.

Boom and reach

The Cantilever Boom is a Boom Beam that cantilevers from the pivot, with its lower flange serving as the Trolley Track the trolley runs on, and an End Stop at each end to keep the trolley on the beam. On longer or higher-capacity jibs the boom tip is supported from above by a diagonal Tie Rod, which lets the beam be lighter for a given reach, while shorter jibs use a plain cantilever beam with no tie. The Capacity Plate states the rated capacity and reach, which matter because capacity falls as the trolley moves outboard and the moment grows.

Pivot, slew, and swing

The boom swings on the Pivot and Slew. A Pivot Shaft runs between a Top Thrust Bearing that takes the horizontal pull and a Bottom Radial Bearing that takes the vertical and outward load. Most wall jibs are swung by hand, the operator simply pushing the load around the arc, but a motorized jib adds a Slew Drive with a Servo Motor and gear reduction for powered or precise positioning. Swing Limit Stop stops limit the arc to a safe sector, and because the crane mounts to a wall the swing is typically up to about 180 degrees rather than the full circle a floor-mounted pillar jib can reach.

Hoist and trolley

Lifting is done by the Electric Hoist. A Hoist Motor drives a Hoist Gearbox and a Load Chain, which raises and lowers the Hook Block. The hook block carries a forged Lifting Hook with a spring Safety Latch so a sling cannot jump off, a Hoist Brake holds the load when the motor stops, and Limit Switch switches stop the hoist at the top and bottom of travel. The hoist hangs from a Hoist Trolley that rides the boom on Trolley Wheel wheels, set to the wanted reach either by hand or by a powered Trolley Drive, with Trolley Bumper bumpers cushioning it against the end stops.

Electrical and control

The Electrical and Control system keeps the crane simple to operate. A Control Panel holds the contactors and control board that switch and protect the motors, a hanging Pendant Control gives the operator up, down, slew, and traverse buttons, and a Festoon Cable cable feeds power to the moving trolley. Where the boom swings, a Slip-Ring Collector slip-ring passes power across the rotating joint, and a Emergency Stop cuts all motion at once. Manual jibs reduce this to little more than the hoist supply and pendant.

Use and place in the fleet

Wall jibs serve a single workstation: feeding a press or machine tool, lifting parts onto a bench, or spotting a load under a larger crane. They are cheaper and need far less structure than a Workstation Bridge Crane that covers a rectangular area, and they free the floor entirely since the wall carries the load. Their limits are coverage and capacity, since one arm sweeps only an arc and the moment grows with reach, so they suit light and intermittent duty rather than the continuous, area-wide handling a bridge crane or a gantry provides. Within a single work cell along a wall they are the most economical way to put a hoist where it is needed.