MapleSim helps reduce development time for ABB Crane Systems and saves money for its customers

ABB Crane Systems is the world’s leading supplier of automation and electrical systems for container handling and bulk handling cranes, including automatic stacking cranes and ship to shore cranes. They are notoriously difficult to control because they use long ropes, and small disturbances can cause the containers to swing. Even without any external disturbances, the motion of the container itself can produce oscillations. Today, these cranes are required to lift heavier loads at higher speeds and to greater heights than ever before; however, this size increase is making the oscillation problem even worse. These oscillations and their suppression have been widely recognized as a major efficiency bottleneck by the shipping industry. ABB Crane Systems wanted to develop improved automatic crane controllers capable of suppressing the swinging motion, and hence improve their customers’ operational safety and profitability.

Read the full story in the Advanced System Level Modeling of Complex Machines Whitepaper.