He adds: “When Yale Industrial Products first launched the new CPM and CPE electric chain hoists back in the mid 1990s, we believed we were offering the market the ultimate in hoist design. Our experience since that time, confirmed by our hundreds of distributors and resellers, was that their performance, safety and durability had enabled them to become either the market leader or a strong contender in most markets.”
Of course, competitors make similar claims, and Sherwin admits “buyers were becoming ever-more demanding, and new international and safety standards were on the horizon.”
Chief engineer Detlef Struck focused specific attention on a replacement for the high performance CPM range, which operates in the competitive high volume market of 125-2,000kg capacity. But “making a better hoist would be pointless if the improvements risked making the price uncompetitive in the market,” Sherwin says.
The easy part was to settle on the range specification which comprises six models from 250kg to 2t, destined to both replace the previous series and to complement the full Yale range of electric hoists running from 125kg to 10t.
The development work was led by the company’s Velbert, Germany, factory, while retaining access to Columbus McKinnon Corporation’s US engineering expertise.
Chain wear
Despite the industry’s efforts to educate users to lubricate and check load chains, reality dictated that this would always be a problem leading to excess wear through the case hardened layer. The stretched chain, if not attended to, may ultimately ride over the load wheel and risk breaking the chain guide, with possible further collateral damage.
“The problem hits home when the user realises that the hoist needs to be fully stripped down to repair, which takes the hoist out of use for some time and at a significant cost,” says Sherwin.
The Yale solution was to recognise that chain wear is a fact of life and to enable the engineer to replace both the load wheel and chain guide in around five minutes, with no need for a full strip down. This provides a far more economic and simple solution, Yale says, which may also encourage users to have the repair work carried out before the damage becomes excessive and possibly dangerous.
Performance and reliability standards
Designed to 50% ED electric duty, the new series provides a potentially longer life compared with general industry performance of 40% duty, and in initial FEM tests the Vego “was still going strong after 1,200 hours,” Yale adds.
The motor specification will vary according to the capacity, using Class F insulation 400 or 460/480V, fan cooled motors, in 3 phase 50Hz or 60Hz, capable of up to 300 starts per hour, operating in ambient temperatures from -10 to 40 degrees C.
Slipping clutch and safety braking
On previous models there was always the possibility that with the clutch positioned between the load wheel and gears, the load could gradually descend if the clutch had been worn or had malfunctioned. Now placed between the brake and motor, the braking operation bypasses the slipping clutch, so the brake will continue to operate and hold the load safely in place.
Additionally, the slipping clutch has been upgraded to cover the new EN 14492-2 requirements with a design which is “easier to repair, is more accurate than current standards require and during tests operated well without adjustment.” The brake itself is a low voltage DC failsafe design, so under loss of power the brake is automatically applied and the load safely retained.
New layout and gearbox advances
With the traditional design, in some circumstances and applications, the weight of the transformer could cause the PCB to bend and ultimately fail. By separating the components the PCB “should easily last for the lifetime of the hoist without costly replacement,” according to the manufacturer.
The helical gearbox has been designed to make less noise, and when the limit switch comes into play a newly developed, and more resilient material will cushion the impact more effectively.
“With its clean, uncluttered profile, the Vego provides an attractive, modern and functional design. Fins provide excellent heat dissipation and the electrics are easy to reach for checking and maintenance,” Sherwin concludes.
Marketing
The Vego comes off a new lean production line in Germany and has benefited from the experience of a similar exercise for the company’s Lodestar range in Columbus McKinnon’s US plant in Damascus, Virginia. Yale will keep to its policy of marketing through its network of distributors and resellers and has established production levels able to provide them with next day delivery on most models. They are a vital part of Yale’s distribution strategy, with intimate knowledge of their local markets and a full after sales parts, maintenance and repair service.
