Industrial winches are mechanical devices that are meant to pull hefty loads specifically horizontally. They are majorly used to pull in or let out or sometimes to adjust the tension of a rope or cable. Industrial winches have a simple design that has a rope or cable tied around a drum or barrel. To move the load, the drum moves on a horizontal axis. The winch can either be driven by steam, a hydraulic motor, or even an electric motor power. Besides, the industrial winches are made of a variety of configurations and most of them are made of fabricated steel and conceived for a specific loading capacity. When buying an industrial winch, there are a few specifications that you may wish to consider such as the type of a winch that differs in terms of the motor. Similarly, you may consider the type of the gear, the size of the winch, the size of the drum, the lining type, brakes, performance details, duty cycle, and the product. In this article, we will survey the various types of industrial winches and their features.
Types of industrial winches
- Mechanical Drum Winch
The mechanical drum winch is powered by a running engine. It has a gearbox where the power is transmitted to the winch through the use of a turning shaft. The mechanical drum winch is more powerful as compared to the electrical winches and can still operate while the engine is running with the gear engaged or not. The mechanical drum winches have a shape of the winch assembly with a rope wrapped around a spool-like holder hence deriving its name from this feature.
- Mechanical Capstan Winch
The mechanical capstan winch may share similar features with the mechanical drum winch, however, the style of the winch assembly differs slightly. The assembly in the mechanical capstan winch has one extended piece around which is central to the spool-like construction found in the mechanical drum winches. The mechanical capstan winch is powered by an engine through the use of a crankshaft. It’s mostly used for horizontal pulling.
- Electrical winch
The electrical winch is powered by two batteries of a vehicle. Where one battery of the vehicle where the winch is attached and another battery operates independently from the car battery. With such a system, the winch does not affect the system of the vehicle.
- Hydraulic Drum Winch
A hydraulic drum winch is powered by an engine that is connected to a hydraulic pump. One of the advantageous features of a hydraulic drum winch is that it can run even when it is completely submerged in water. Just like other winches, they can operate while the engine is running
5 . Hybrid Winch
A hybrid winch is strong and affordable providing efficient services. They are mainly built from spare parts and are powered by a hydraulic pump and motor.
To wrap up, winches use motors and gears to operate. Similarly, the different types of motors such as permanent magnet motors and series-wound motors. The motors come along with a coil set inside them known as an armature. The winch gears are also of different types such as planetary gears, worm gears, and spur gears. The gears are meant to transmit the power to the winches for effective operation.