Copyright © 2001 - 2002, Thomas Avery
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Crawler Crane Counterweight
Click for Larger View: 52 KB This is the additional counterweight behind the crane. This is a separate structure on wheels that moves around with the crane.

There are 8 pneumatic cylinders that can jack the counterweight up a little and support it.

Click for Larger View: 34 KB The weight of the counterweight is from the stacks of steel plate. I bought a lot of 0.25" x 1.5" flatbar and chopped it up into 10 brick width-long (3.125-inch) pieces. There are 40 of them, or 4 stacks of 10. The weight of the steel alone is a little over 13 pounds. The weight of the total structure is close to 20 pounds, or so (I haven't put it on the scales yet).
Click for Larger View: 44 KB There are four sets of wheels, each set has 3 tires. The wheel sets rotate about a vertical axis. There are two small hand cranks that rotate the front and back sets.

The sets can be rotated such that the counterweight moves with the crane in any direction (forward, back, rotating, etc.).

Click for Larger View: 50 KB Here, the wheel sets are turned so that the entire crane can move forward or backward.

As you can see, the structure of the counterweight is relatively simple. I did not spend a lot of time building it. I just wanted a simple platform on rollers that would support the weight of the steel. It could have been made more advanced and have been motorized. Oh well, there's always next time.

Click for Larger View: 31 KB Here the wheel sets are turned so that the counterweight will move with the crane as it rotates about its turntable.
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