ingiant technology | Industry new | April 22.2025
1. Introduction
Cable reels are cable winding devices that provide power, control power or control signals for large mobile equipment. They are widely used in many mobile equipment in the fields of ports, docks, water conservancy projects and steel, such as gantry cranes, tower cranes, portal cranes, quay cranes, bulk material handling machinery (bucket wheel stacker reclaimers), hydropower station dam top gantry cranes and electric flat cars, stage lighting and sound, etc.
2. Product form
According to the power form, it can be divided into: manual type, counterweight type, elastic type, torque motor type, hysteresis type, variable frequency transmission type, hydraulic coupling type, and magnetic coupling type.
According to the different winding materials, it can be divided into: cable reel, hose reel (transmission medium is gas, liquid), optical cable reel.
Cable reels are divided into axial single row and axial multi-row according to the cable arrangement.
Cable reels are divided into two types according to the position of the collector slip ring: slip ring internal type and slip ring external type.
3. Design principles
3.1 Cable specifications and types
1) Cable outer diameter, which directly affects the axial size of the reel.
2) Cable form, round or flat cable. Flat cable can only be wound in a single row.
3) Cable unit weight (kg/m) and length affect the power requirement of the reel. The larger the unit weight and length, the higher the power requirement for the reel.
4) The bending radius of the cable affects the minimum diameter of the reel. When the reel diameter is smaller than the cable bending radius, the cable will be damaged.
5) The number of cable cores affects the number of collector slip rings.
6) The voltage and current affect the insulation and size of the collector slip ring. The elastic type can only be used for equipment below 500V.
3.2. Winding length
Affects the radial size and power requirement of the reel. The longer the length, the higher the power requirement.
3.3. Equipment movement speed
Affects the motor power and transmission ratio of the electric cable reel. When the equipment movement speed exceeds 60 meters/minute, the variable frequency control type should be selected.
3.4. Equipment installation height
The higher the installation height, the greater the power demand.
3.5. Coiling method
Coiling method picture
3.6. Other factors
1) Reel material: carbon steel, 304 stainless steel, 316 stainless steel.
2) Protection level: IP55, IP56, IP65
3) Cable guide: whether a guide is needed, whether the guide needs tension protection function
4) Cable guide: whether a cable guide is needed
5) Power supply method: midpoint/endpoint power supply, etc.
Installation Diagram of guide frame
4. Application scope of different cable reels
4.1. Counterweight cable reel
It is a mechanical device that automatically reels the cable by using the principle of storing energy when the weight is lifted. When the cable is pulled out, the cable reel is driven to rotate, thereby driving the wire rope reel coaxially connected to the cable reel to rotate, so as to lift the weight and store potential energy. When the reel reels the cable, the weight drops to release the potential energy. Under the action of the wire rope tension, the cable reel coaxially connected to the wire rope reel is driven to rotate and reel the cable synchronously.
Advantages: simple structure, stable and reliable performance, easy installation and maintenance, and long service life.
Disadvantages: large size, limited by travel, if a large travel is required, it must be left with enough installation space.
Scope of application: gantry cranes with short travel of large-size cables above 35mm², ladle cars, molten iron cars, slag pan cars in steelmaking workshops and other equipment. These equipment are suitable for cable anchoring end points and midpoints.
4.2. Spring-type cable reel
It is a mechanical device that automatically reels the cable by using the principle of storing energy by releasing the cable reel spring. When the cable is pulled out, the reel rotates to tighten the spiral spring and store energy; when the reel returns, the reel will automatically reel the cable.
Advantages: good synchronization performance, small cable tension, low price.
Disadvantages: Due to the limited life of the spring spring itself, the service life of this type of reel is relatively short and is limited by the stroke.
Scope of application: Horizontal and vertical cable reeling of power cables and control cables below 35mm², such as lifting electromagnet suction cups, grabs, electric flat cars and other equipment and similar working conditions. These devices are suitable for cable anchoring end points and midpoints.
4.3. Magnetic coupling cable reel
The core technology is to use permanent magnetic coupler as synchronous differential mechanism. The cable reeling process is that the power drives the reel to reel the cable through the permanent magnetic coupler. The coupler and the reel are constantly slipping differentially to ensure that the cable reeling speed is the same as the moving speed of the equipment. By adjusting the output torque of the permanent magnetic coupler, the tension of the cable can be adjusted within a certain range. The cable release process is through a one-way clutch device, and the power cannot be transmitted to the coupler and the reel. Under the action of the cable tension, the reel overcomes the hysteresis of the cable release hysteresis device and releases the cable synchronously.
Advantages: mature technology and high cost performance. The synchronization performance of the reel and the mobile equipment is stable and reliable. The permanent magnetic technology is used in the final stage of the transmission system, with low speed and no heating phenomenon; when the cable is reeled in and released, the cable tension can be adjusted to protect the cable.
Disadvantages: high noise.
Scope of application: cables with specifications below 35mm², such as electric flat cars, trolleys, tower cranes, bridge or gantry cranes, stackers and reclaimers and other equipment and similar working conditions. Suitable for cable anchoring end points and midpoints.
4.4. Magnetic coupling improved cable reel
The principle of this cable reel is the same as the above. The disc motor or brake motor can be selected according to the needs of the user. The electric control method of the reel is that the cable reeling motor works and the cable releasing motor is powered off.
Advantages: more compact structure, small size, small mass, easy installation.
Disadvantages: high noise.
4.5. Long-term stall torque motor cable reel
It uses a torque motor with long-term stall and self-speed regulation characteristics as the power. The output speed of the motor decreases automatically with the increase of external load, and the reel cable speed is automatically adjusted to be the same as the equipment travel speed; when releasing the cable, under the action of cable tension, the stall motor torque is overcome to release the cable synchronously; when parking and power off, the disc brake of the torque motor is used to lock the cable to ensure that the cable does not slip.
Advantages: The motor is always powered, the electronic control is simple, the failure rate can be reduced, the cable winding range is large, and the travel is long.
Disadvantages: When releasing the cable, it is necessary to overcome the motor stall torque resistance, and small cables need to be used with caution.
Scope of application: large-size cables such as stackers, bridge workers or gantry cranes, and mobile equipment running over long distances. These devices are suitable for cable anchoring endpoints and midpoints.
4.6. Hysteresis Cable Reel
A disk made of permanent magnetic steel forms an alternating multi-pole magnetic field. There is a strong induction disk opposite the disk. When the motor drives the induction disk to rotate at high speed, the magnetic disk is driven to rotate through magnetic coupling. When the two disks have a speed slip, the multi-pole magnetic disk will alternately magnetize the induction disk on the opposite side, thereby generating a torque (i.e. "magnetic coupling") that resists this slip and drives (or brakes) the magnetic disk to rotate. The cable reel is driven by the motor to transmit power to the hysteresis coupling, and after deceleration, the amplified torque is transmitted to the cable reel. When the cable reel is working, the motor always rotates in the direction of cable reeling. When the lifting equipment moves away from the power source, the cable pulls the reel to reverse, causing the two reels to slip and release the cable on the reel. The magnetic field torque of the hysteresis coupling will always ensure that the cable is in a tensioned state during the cable release process. When the lifting equipment returns, the tension of the cable on the reel disappears, and the cable reel rotates in the direction of winding to complete the cable reeling condition.
Its advantages are compact structure, easy installation and maintenance, adjustable output torque according to actual working conditions, good self-braking function, no need to install brakes, and reliable operation of the cable drum. Its control system is simple and can be linked with the forward and reverse control system of the equipment. As long as the equipment is running, the drum motor will work and the phase sequence will not change. During the operation of the cable drum, the hysteresis coupling can adjust the speed according to the running speed of the host equipment, so that the line speed of the cable drum to retract and release the cable is synchronized with the running speed of the host equipment.
Its disadvantage is that in the case of large cable capacity and high installation height of the host, in order to reduce the temperature rise of the rotor and increase the service life of the rotor, it is necessary to adopt the design concept of multi-head small torque, which is relatively expensive.
It is suitable for heavy mobile machinery and equipment such as port gantry cranes, container cranes, ship loaders, tower cranes, etc. These equipment are suitable for cable anchoring end points and midpoints.
4.7. Variable frequency cable reel
The variable frequency motor is a B5 installation structure, directly connected to the input end of the reducer. One end of the reducer output shaft is connected to the cable reel through a key connection, and the other end is connected to the electric slip ring in the collector box. The reducer and the collector ring transmission box are fixed on the top of the base. The inverter control cabinet is independent of the cable reel, and the appropriate installation position can be selected according to the actual situation. Under the closed-loop vector (with speed sensor vector control), the inverter selects the open-loop torque control mode, and calculates the actual reel diameter of the cable reel through thickness integration to accurately control the output torque of the motor, thereby ensuring that the cable will not cause tension changes due to changes in reel diameter when it is wound on the reel, that is, the tension of the cable is constant. The cable reel has the following advantages:
(1) During the process of cable winding and unwinding, no matter where the equipment is running on the track, the tension acting on it is always constant, and the tension of the cable can be adjusted arbitrarily through the inverter parameter input and the control box panel knob operation, which maximizes the protection of the cable and greatly extends the service life of the cable.
(2) The reel can respond quickly to changes in the equipment's operating speed and can be synchronized with the equipment. Its performance is precise and sensitive.
(3) It breaks through the bottleneck of traditional cable reel design such as hysteresis type and torque motor type. It is not restricted by the extraordinary specifications of cable specifications, winding length, equipment speed and installation height. The cable reel of any complex working condition is driven by a variable frequency motor with different power.
(4) It has strong adaptability and can work continuously under high load all day.
(5) The reel and the equipment are linked for operation protection, which effectively prevents accidents such as cable breaking.
(6) The reel motor is precisely controlled and protected by the frequency converter, which can extend its service life.
(7) The variable frequency control motor type cable reel can automatically change the operating frequency of the reel variable frequency motor according to the set tension and the operating speed of the host equipment (trolley), and work normally at any speed from 0 to n (n is the asynchronous speed). When the host equipment is powered off, the variable frequency motor brake of the cable reel brakes to ensure that the cable does not slip.
Advantages: can accurately control the force, best protect the cable, and extend the cable life.
Disadvantages: the price is the most expensive among similar products
Scope of application: port gantry cranes, container cranes, ship loaders, tower cranes and other heavy mobile machinery and equipment.
Post time: Apr-23-2025