The Liebherr Group—a Switzerland-based construction and mining equipment manufacturer—has unveiled its new 500-tonne LR 1500 crawler crane at the Liebherr Customer Days event in Germany on 17 June 2015. In this blog, the features of this giant machine, which you should know, are presented.

Liebherr’s new LR 1500 crawler crane is a 500-tonne capacity crane having the dimensions and transport weights of a 400 tonner. The boom and luffing jib of the machine have a maximum length of 84 + 84 meters together. The luffing jib is integrated with a 250-tonne jib head, which helps simplify SL main boom operation.

A 400-tonne head is available for the S main boom, which helps perform heavy lifts; the same is lighter than the optional 500-tonne head. The company has made the derrick boom—a lifting device—30 meters long and derrick ballast of 260 tonnes (maximum). Further, users can adjust their radius from 9 to 16 meters

The boom sections of LR 1500 crawler crane are available in 6- and 12-meter lengths, which do not require a derrick ballast guide frame. Crane operators can easily adjust the ballast radius by using the derrick boom. The crane can transport component of 45 tonnes easily while the central crawler section with a slew ring weighs 55 tonnes; but a removable A-frame reduces the weight to 45 tonnes.

And the company has taken global transport standards into consideration while engineering the crane’s transport dimensions of 3 meters.

Other features of the crane are as follows:

  • Track width is 7.6 meters.
  • The shoes are 1.5- meters wide for lower ground pressure.
  • The line pull on the main hoist is 180 kN, eliminating the need for a second winch for heavy lifts.
  • A line pull of 125 kN is needed if the crane has been operated with a runner.