Ludwig System GmbH & Co KG: Feinguss Lobenstein

Ludwig System GmbH & Co KG

Investment casting for optimal lifting hook safety

Suspended loads – in construction, industry or forestry – cause safety officers a great deal of stress. Ludwig System GmbH & Co KG based in Bad Reichenhall has developed remote-controlled lifting hooks to minimise risk to practically zero. They optimise safety for operating personnel and help to save time when dropping a load.

The highly stressed cap of this remote-controlled lifting hook is manufactured by Feinguß Lobenstein with investing casting. For Peter Ruf, Managing Director at Ludwig System, quality of cast parts is crucial: “My ‘wow’ moment was when I saw the quality of all components throughout a batch. That is a crucial criterion for us and is essential for stringent safety requirements.”

Galerie

The Hook product family is based on an investment casting cap that the housing is screwed into. The combination of the cap and housing protects the full interior consisting of the motor, remote control and battery. Different colour markings are used for reliable identification when using several hooks.

Properties

Specialists from Ludwig System GmbH & Co KG have managed to combine

the highest-possible degree of safety,
handling due to minimising weight,
high tensile strength and functionality

with remote-controlled load hooks from the Hook series. These hooks can lift a live load of 2 t with a deadweight of only 2.8 kg. Ludwig have thus been able to set the benchmark of max. safety in forestry and for mobile, hall, revolving tower or logistics cranes. “As we are replacing manual unhooking by operating a remote control, safety for operating personnel is optimised above all, alongside being able to save time. No-one needs to go to the attachment point anymore to detach our remote-controlled lifting hooks; this minimises the time required for this, and maximises safety”, said Ruf.

“Our hooks are tested with at least a triple safety factor. This means that hooks from the Hook range have to withstand loads of at least 6 tons”, said Ruf. “Of course, we have stringent requirements for the material used as a result to achieve an ideal combination of stability and deadweight for the max. amount of safety and optimal handling.”

Specialists from Ludwig Systems and Feinguß Lobenstein have optimised component casting based on hook construction. However, the component’s geometry only leaves minimal space for sprues, so the cast connections that were most suitable in the form of several sprue points were determined using simulations. This prevents blowholes and the component’s visible areas become absolutely flawless from a visual standpoint.

The highest possible quality is consistently ensured with a 100 % crack and x-ray test carried out by Feinguß Lobenstein. Clean surfaces and precise-fitting threaded connections are achieved at the same time with this manufacturing technique, which protects all of the hook’s interior consisting of the motor, remote control and battery.

“Feinguß Lobenstein is a medium-sized company – just like us. So our cultures are very similar. Calculating and optimising this first component has won us over, and we are happy to have found such a professional supplier”, said Ruf. “We are really happy with the quality of our investment casting parts. The parts are just what we asked for. Collaboration is constructive so we have already been able to speak to Feinguß Lobenstein about producing other components for our hook solutions.”