When completed next year, the Kingdom Centre will be Saudi Arabia's tallest tower.
The project's main contractor El Seif is utilising a Scando 28/37C twin cage unit along with a Scando FC20/30TD twin cage hoist to transport materials and workers.
The Alimak passenger/materials hoists will be raised to the top storey at 200 m height. [QQ]The units are of modular design and the mast, which comes in sections of 1.5 m, can easily be extended as the project progresses.
The strong lattice mast allows long tie-in distances to the building, a major advantage on tall buildings as it reduces the time needed for erection of the hoists.
The twin cage Scando Super 28/37C has a payload of 2.8 tonnes or some 37 passengers per cage, the cage floor area being 1.5 by 3.7 m.
The Scando FC20/30TD has a payload capacity of two tonnes per cage with cage dimensions of 1.3 m by 3.0 m. The variable frequency drive system (VFC) of this hoist allows speeds up to 100 m per minute which increases productivity on high lifting heights such as the Kingdom Centre.
Meanwhile, Alimak has launched a new tower crane lift, the Alimak TC 50.
"The new lift combines the safety and reliability of the proven rack and pinion drive technology with some new, interesting features. The design is optimised for minimum wind exposure and load impact to the crane structure. Installation is quick and simple," says an Alimak spokesman.
Giving details of the new lift's features, he says the lift car is supported by a base frame which is attached to the pipes of the tower crane mast or, alternatively, fixed to the concrete slab of the crane counterweight. A 175 mm square pipe with rack makes up the mast which is galvanised and comes in sections of 1.5 m with a weight of only 47 kg per section.
"The car is delivered completely assembled. Its walls are of aluminium and there are windows on all four sides. The car door is horizontally sliding and electrically as well as mechanically interlocked. The drive unit is located underneath the car together with the Alimak safety device which is actuated at overspeed. There are top and bottom limit cams for automatic stops at each end of the hoistway. The lift has a capacity of 200 kg/two persons and travels at a speed of 21 m per min. The maximum lifting height is 120 m.
The Alimak TC 50 crane lift is CE-marked according to the machinery directive. A few units are already in operation on cranes up to a height of 100 m.
The spokesman says another of Alimak's products, the C-20 range of construction hoists and platforms, also met with great response from the market and since its launch in 1998 more than 420 units have been sold worldwide.
"The unique mast-sharing concept and the adaptability of the design to corner configurations of varying angles, are among the many innovative features of the C-20 work platforms."
The company claims that the C-20 easily accommodates changing angles of building facades by the assembly of platform sections of different shapes to suit the contour of the building - a totally new approach to an often tricky problem.
A new, larger passenger/materials hoist within the C-20 concept is the Alimak CH 18-32. It has a cage length of 3.2 m, a width of 1.4 m and is capable of carrying a load of 1,800 kg. [QQ]The unit is equipped with variable frequency drive offering smooth acceleration and deceleration and stepless speed control. "If requested, the CH 18-32 model can also be supplied with direct-on-line motor control," says the spokesman.
With the incorporation of this new model, the Alimak CH hoist range now offers cage sizes variable in lengths from 2.0 m to 3.2 m and with load capacities ranging from 900 kg to 2,000 kg per cage.
