ITT’s Enidine brand takes shock out of industrial applications

While ITT Enidine brand engineers design shock absorbers for a variety of industrial applications, one of their focus areas is logistics and this week, they will be highlighting some of their highly engineered and customized solutions at Hannover Messe, a leading trade fair for industrial technology.

At seaports, container ships rely on industrial cranes suspended from bridge trolleys. As cranes lift truck-size containers from docks and move them to ships, the crane operator controls the process from a cab that runs along a trolley suspended high above the work area. ITT engineers are developing shock impact safety protection for the crane operator’s cab and the trolley, so that neither cab nor trolley make impact with the end of their respective tracks when moving across the container yard. To accomplish this, ITT Enidine HD/HDN Series shock absorbers decelerate the energy capacity loads, which can be up to 8 million in-lbs. per cycle for some applications.

The shocks include an air-charged bladder accumulator (which replaces mechanical return springs) that provides a shorter length and reduced weight compared to competing products. The zinc-plated skin on the shock absorbers gives an added layer of protection against corrosion, especially where equipment is exposed to ocean air and sea spray. The shocks have an operating range of between -40◦ C and 99◦ C. ITT's heavy duty industrial shock absorbers come in a wide variety of configurations, including bellows, clevis mounts and safety cables. ITT's heavy duty hydraulic shock absorbers are fully field-repairable.

“We can customize, recommend and tune damping and vibration isolations systems because we have experience with preventing the structural failure of applications ranging from power plant turbines to assembly lines,” said Peter Bauer, managing director for ITT Control Technologies EMEA GmbH. “Choosing shock absorbers and mounts from a catalogue without thoroughly analyzing and testing assumptions leads to less than optimal results. To determine, for example, the right viscous damper design, companies need to consider the angle of recline and the right damping coefficient and characteristics.”

According to Bauer, investing in a consultative engineering approach leads to the right damping and vibration isolation solution, which ensures a quality and cost-effective solution. ITT engineers work with customers to develop shock- and vibration-reducing systems for applications including furnace slab bumpers, hot strip mill down-coilers and overhead bridge cranes.

About ITT

ITT is a focused multi-industrial company that designs and manufactures highly engineered critical components and customized technology solutions. Our customers in the energy, transportation and industrial markets depend on us to solve their most critical problems, and we focus on partnering with them to find solutions to their unique challenges. Founded in 1920, ITT is headquartered in White Plains, N.Y., with employees in more than 35 countries. The company has sales in approximately 125 countries and generated 2014 revenues of $2.7 billion. For more information, visit www.itt.com.

About ITT’s Control Technologies business

ITT’s Control Technologies business is a global manufacturer and supplier of highly engineered industrial products and aerospace components. Through leading brands such as Enidine, the business serves customers in the infrastructure, energy, heavy industry, aerospace and automation markets.