LOL. TTFN. BRB. EKKE. Our world is full of acronyms and shortened words. Texting has made abbreviations and the use of acronyms explode, just try to read a text from your teenager. Realistically, our world has used a multitude of these before the advent of the cellular device. All industries and companies have a secret language that confuse even the most seasoned veteran, and the material handling space is not exempt! Demag uses acronyms for many things like crane designations, product names, and the components within. Here we will unveil the mystery around what legacy Demag overhead crane acronyms, or descriptions, mean.
Legacy Demag Overhead Cranes
To start with, the Demag name is an abbreviation. In the early 20th century, our company name was Deutsche Maschinenfabrik AG. In 1926 we started using the telegram abbreviation DEMAG, well, for telegrams. As time went on, the abbreviated name stuck and became our identity.
If you have purchased Demag cranes, hoists, or crane components in the past, you know that we use acronyms as crane model identifiers, describing the crane we have built for you. To make our acronyms a little more complicated, Demag is a German company so our acronyms typically come with a language change. You’ll see that the literal ‘Google Translate translation’ gives you some indication of the description of your overhead crane but doesn’t quite give you all the information you need. How many of these cranes do you have in your shop or have you worked on?
Decoding the Demag 4-Letter Acronym
When Demag manufactured complete cranes, the 4-letter acronyms for them described the crane. The first letter tells you the number of girders in German- E= eins, or one; Z= zwei, or two.
The second letter generally tells you what type of girder the crane is built with, but this not always the case with older cranes. P= profile, or beam girder; K= Kastenbauweise , or box girder; V= Demag V-type girder.
The last 2 letters generally give some additional information on the crane including type of crane and with older cranes, the type of girder. We’ve broken the descriptions down into single girder, double girder and jib cranes sections so it’s easier to find what you need.
Single Girder Demag Overhead Cranes- Top Running
EKKE– Einträger-Laufkran, Kastenbauweise mit Einschienenkatze
Literally, Demag’s EKKE overhead travelling crane translates to “Single-girder overhead crane, box construction with monorail cat.” The EKKE crane is a single, box girder with top running end trucks. The runway is mounted to the building and the end trucks run on a rail on top of the runway. The girder is side mounted to the end trucks, in other words connected on the side of the girder to the side of the end truck.
EPKE– Einträger-Profil,Kran,Lauf-/Walz- mit Einschienenkatze
“Single-girder profile, crane, run / roll with monorail cat” is the literal translation for the EPKE crane. The EPKE Demag overhead crane is a single, beam girder where the girder is side mounted to a top running end truck. Beam girders are commonly called I-beams, but they are rounded where the top and bottom pieces meet the middle so it is technically a W-beam. The hoist is connected to a trolley that allows it to move across the bottom of the girder with the use of a pendant or radio controller or manually depending on the requirements.
EVKE– Einträger V-Profilkran mit Elektroseilzugkatze
This single girder crane is unique to Demag since it uses the patented V-type girder. The literal translation of EVKE is “single girder V-profile crane with electric cable pulling cat.” The Demag EVKE is a single girder, v-type crane with top running end trucks. Overhead cranes built with the Demag v-type girder have multiple configurations on how the girder can attach to the end truck (side mount, top mount, etc) so this detail is not specified in the name. The under-hung hoist runs along the bottom rail of the v-girder and it is outfitted with an electric trolley for travel across the bridge.
EHPE– Einträger-Halbportalkran mit Elektroseilzugkatze
Literally the EHPE translates to “single girder half gantry crane with electric cable pulling cat.” The EHPE overhead crane is a single girder, semi-gantry crane. Being a semi-gantry crane, or half gantry, it is freestanding on one side and attached to a runway supported by the building on the other. The entire crane moves with wheels on rail in the floor of the freestanding side and across the runway on the other.
The girder is a beam girder, which is the 3rd letter in this designation. It has an electric trolley for the hoist to travel across the bridge. It’s not an overly common crane, but your crane service technicians likely see them from time to time.
Single Girder Demag Overhead Cranes- Underhung or Suspension
EDKE– Einträger-Deckenkran, Kastenbauweise, Laufräder mit Spurkranz und Elektroseilzugkatze
The literal translation of the German for the Demag EDKE overhead travelling crane is “Single girder overhead crane, box construction, wheels with wheel flange and electric cable pulling cat.” The EDKE is a single box girder crane with under running end trucks and an under-hung hoist. This means the runway is suspended from the ceiling and the girder is attached to the bottom of under running end trucks. The hoist travels across the bridge with an electric trolley, controlled by a pendant or radio controller.
EPDE-Einträger-Profil,Walz-/Decken mit Einschienenkatze
The literal translation for the EPDE is “single beam profile, rolling / ceiling with single rail cat.” The Demag EPDE overhead crane is an under running crane, meaning the runway and end trucks are suspended from the ceiling rather than sitting on top of the supporting structure. The beam girder is attached to under running end trucks and it is fitted with an electric trolley to move the hoist along the bridge.
Double Girder Demag Overhead Cranes- Top Running
ZKKE– Zweiträger-Laufkran, Kastenbauweise mit Elektroseilzugkatze
“Double-girder overhead crane, box construction with electric cable pulling cat” is the literal translations of ZKKE. The Demag ZKKE overhead travelling crane is a box style, double girder crane. The end trucks are top running on the runway and the double girder crab trolley, or hoist trolley, is top running on the girders. The crab travels across the bridge electrically with cable or radio controls.
ZPKE– Zweiträger-Laufkran, Walzprofil und Zweischienenkatze
The literal translation for the ZPKE is “Double-girder overhead crane, rolled section and two-rail cat.” The ZPKE Demag overhead crane is double beam girder crane where the girder is side mounted to a top running end truck. The beam style girders have an under running crab that is moved with cable or radio controls.
ZVKE– Zweiträger-Laufkran, V-Profilträger und Zweischienenkatze
When translated, the ZVKE literally means “double-girder overhead crane, V-profile girder and two-rail cat.” The Demag ZVKE overhead travelling crane has our patented v-type girders. It’s a double girder crane with top running end trucks and top running, electric crab. Depending on the necessary configuration, the girder can connect to the end truck from the side, top or bottom of the girder.
ZKKW– Zweiträger-Laufkran, Kastenbauweise, Windwerkskatze
When ZKKW is literally translated it means “double-girder overhead crane, box construction, windlass cat.” With the literal translation of the Demag ZKKW overhead travelling crane difficult to understand, this one will help. The ZKKW is a heavy-duty, double box girder crane for high capacity jobs. The end trucks are top running and it includes our heavy duty MPW open winch hoist, which is always a top running trolley. This is a crane that is designed for your most demanding jobs.
ZHPE– Zweiträger-Halbportalkran mit Elektroseilzugkatze
“Double-girder semi-portal crane with electric cable pulling cat” is the literal translation for the Demag ZHPE crane. The ZHPE overhead crane is a double girder, semi-gantry crane, meaning one side is freestanding while the opposite runs on a traditional rail. The entire crane moves with wheels on rail in the floor of the gantry side and along the runway on the other. The overhead travelling crane girders are beams or boxes with an under running crab. The ZHPE allows for heavy duty material handling in specialized areas of your production process.
Demag Jib Cranes
EJIB, EKWK, and ZJIB– single and double girder wall travelling jib
Demag uses different abbreviations for jib cranes. EJIB and ZJIB crane is an abbreviation that uses both English and German, along with EKWK which essentially translates to a single box girder that is wall mounted. It uses E for eins or Z for zwei for the number of girders, but the descriptor JIB is English. This is a single girder overhead travelling jib crane. This is a very simplistic abbreviation so it does not give much more information than the configuration of the crane.
Jib cranes can have a beam or box girder and underrunning hoists and crabs. Many times, the hoist on jibs will be a chain hoist, which can be moved manually or electrically, but wire rope hoists are used on jib cranes as well. The jib can be connected to a wall or to a pillar. When the bridge can rotate 270 degrees in the area, it is referred to as a slewing jib crane.
With so many crane configurations, it’s impossible to put all the information needed into 4 abbreviated letters. Just like every industry and company, material handling and Demag have their own language of acronyms. Demag uses 4 letter descriptions to tell you what kind of crane has been designed. Since we have a language change, it can get complicated, but refer to this guide any time for help. Contact us to help with your next project!