ELECTRIC DRIVES FOR SIDE-ROLLING HATCH COVERS: AN ENVIRONMENT-FRIENDLY AND ECONOMIC SOLUTION

摘要

Cargotec has developed a second generation of fully electrically-operated MacGregor side-rolling hatch covers. Development of the electric-drive side-rolling hatch cover started in 2001 in response to the Japanese car industry's ambition to make its supply chain as 'green' as possible. Our answer to this challenge was to launch the 'E-Roll' side-rolling hatch cover system. E-Roll's components and control system were essentially developed from scratch because similar systems for the marine and bulk carrier environments did not exist. After extensive tests and a lengthy component selection process, the first orders were signed in 2006. Ten ships using E-Roll systems are in service but this number is growing rapidly: another 21 shipsets of equipment are on order and about 20 more are in the pipeline. As with all first-generation technology, improvements were needed. A development project focusing on the safety, technical limitations and cost of electric drives has now resulted in the launch of 'MacRack'. Employing an enhanced control system and just one electric motor per hatch cover panel, the MacRack rack-and-pinion side-rolling hatch cover drive represents a significant advance in electric-drive technology.