If you’re looking to improve material handling inside your factory or warehouse, an indoor overhead crane could be the ideal solution. It saves floor space, increases efficiency, and fits seamlessly into most building structures. Whether you’re handling heavy machinery, steel components, molds, or daily material transfers, we are here to help you choose the right overhead crane for your facility.
At Aicrane, we offer a complete range of indoor overhead crane systems designed to meet diverse lifting needs and adapt to different facility layouts and structural constraints.
If your lifting needs are light to moderate (up to 20 tons) and your workshop has limited space or height, the indoor single girder overhead crane is a smart, cost-effective choice. It’s quick to install and easy to operate, making it ideal for small to medium-sized facilities.
Handling heavier equipment or large spans? This robust indoor double girder crane handles heavier weights (up to 500+ tons) and offers higher lifting heights. It’s perfect for heavy-duty work in factories that demand reliability and strength.
No support columns inside your facility or limited roof height for top-running cranes? No worries. Indoor underslung cranes are installed below the runway beams, making them ideal for buildings without column supports or with low ceilings. They save valuable space and offer flexible, efficient lifting for light to medium loads.
Each type of indoor overhead crane offers distinct advantages based on your facility’s layout, lifting requirements, and operational workflow. Whether you’re working with low ceilings, handling heavy-duty loads, or aiming to optimize floor space, selecting the right crane type is key to long-term efficiency and safety.
So, how do you determine which solution fits your facility best? Let’s explore how to choose the most suitable indoor overhead crane for your specific needs.
Unlike outdoor or open-yard lifting applications, inside overhead crane selection is heavily influenced by spatial constraints, building structure, workflow integration, and operational precision. Here are some important factors to consider when selecting an overhead crane for indoor use.
When choosing an indoor overhead crane, your facility layout should take priority. Key facility-based constraints include:
Indoor cranes often need to maximize vertical and horizontal working space. Consider:
Tip: Don’t over-spec the crane – balance capacity and reach with spatial economy to preserve production efficiency.
While it may be tempting to ”oversize” your crane, indoor systems should be optimized for actual load profiles:
In confined indoor areas, oversized overhead cranes often reduce maneuverability and safety.
Indoor bridge cranes must work in harmony with your process layout. Consider:
Also factor in walkways, safety clearance zones, and operator visibility. In indoor settings, human-robot-machine coordination is tighter, so safety systems like anti-collision devices, overload limiters, and remote controls are even more essential.
Indoor overhead cranes often require fine motion control due to the proximity of other structures and people. Evaluate:
Additionally, in indoor spaces with restricted access, consider how maintenance personnel can safely access crane components for inspection and repairs.
One of the most overlooked issues in indoor overhead crane projects is retrofitting into an existing building. Key questions:
If structural reinforcement is required, that will affect both budget and project timeline. In leased or temporary buildings, indoor mobile gantry cranes such as rubber tyred gantry cranes may be more practical.
In enclosed spaces, environmental factors are amplified. Consider:
Selecting the right indoor overhead crane requires more than choosing the right load capacity or span – it demands a detailed understanding of how the crane will interact with your building structure, production processes, and operational constraints.
To better illustrate how these principles apply in real-world situations, let’s look at a few successful indoor overhead crane projects we’ve delivered for our customers.
Challenge:
A Chilean mining service company needed a heavy duty indoor crane to lift and service crushing equipment. However, their current work area was covered by only a lightweight shed, which could not support an overhead crane. They planned to expand the workspace and required both the crane and the supporting steel structure.
Aicrane Solution:
We provided a 32-ton double girder indoor overhead crane with a 14-meter span, along with the steel structure for the new workshop area. During consultation, we learned the client planned to install a second crane in the future. To accommodate this, we adjusted the column and runway beam specifications to ensure long-term structural compatibility.
Result:
The indoor crane system fully met the client’s initial needs for handling and maintaining mining equipment. They were also highly satisfied with the quality and adaptability of the steel structure, which lays the foundation for future crane expansion.
Challenge:
Our client, a precision machining and equipment maintenance company in Costa Rica, faced difficulties aligning the crane specifications with the steel structure design when building a new production facility. Their engineers lacked the data needed to size columns and roof beams for the intended crane system.
Aicrane Solution:
After receiving the full set of building drawings, our engineering team proposed a 32 ton double girder indoor overhead crane with a 12-meter span, and provided precise structural load data. This helped the client’s team optimize their steel structure for full compatibility.
Result:
The integrated indoor crane system greatly improved indoor handling efficiency, enabling the facility to process larger precision components and take on more high-value orders.
Feel free to contact us to learn more about our indoor overhead crane projects. We’ll be happy to provide detailed project information and customized solutions to help you choose the most suitable lifting system for your indoor use.
Installing an indoor overhead crane raises important questions about complexity, facility modifications, and the support you will receive. Here’s a clear overview to help you understand the process and plan accordingly:
Yes, many of our indoor overhead cranes are designed specifically to fit existing facilities. These cranes work with your current roof structure and maximize your facility’s space without requiring large-scale building changes.
We provide expert evaluation to recommend the right indoor crane type for your facility.
The complexity depends on your facility’s current structure and the indoor crane type.
Our goal is to make installation as seamless and cost-effective as possible for you.
With Aicrane tailored support and flexible installation solutions, setting up your indoor overhead crane, whether in a new facility or an existing structure, is made simple and efficient.
Once installed, the next critical step is ensuring your team can operate the crane safely and effectively. Let’s explore the control options available and how to choose the right one for your operational needs.
Aicrane offers multiple control options to suit different working environments and operator preferences – all designed to ensure safety, precision, and efficiency inside your facility.
Pendant control involves an operator walking alongside the indoor bridge crane and operating it via a handheld push-button controller attached to a cable.
Wireless remote controls allow the operator to control the crane from a safe distance using a handheld transmitter.
Cabin control places the operator in a cab mounted on the crane itself.
Aicrane also supports advanced control solutions such as semi-automated or fully automated systems, depending on your operation needs.
Which control option is right for your facility? Choosing the appropriate control method depends on several key factors: the size and layout of your facility, weight and frequency of lifting, operator skill level and safety requirements, budget, and future automation goals.
No matter which control system you choose, our engineering team will help tailor the operation method based on your workflow, facility layout, and staff preferences.
When planning or upgrading your indoor material handling system, it’s crucial to consider not only the crane itself but also the building structure that supports it. At Aicrane, we don’t just provide high-quality indoor overhead cranes, we also design and supply customized steel structure workshops perfectly tailored to your crane and operational needs.
Optimized Structural Support: Steel structures can be engineered specifically to support the loads and dynamic forces of indoor overhead cranes, ensuring safety and longevity.
Maximized Space Utilization: Our steel workshops are designed with optimal clear spans and appropriate headroom, providing ideal conditions for crane operation without unnecessary columns obstructing workflow.
Customizable Layouts: Whether you need single or multiple indoor cranes, long spans, or specific lifting heights, we tailor the steel frame to integrate seamlessly with your crane specifications.
Faster Construction and Cost Efficiency: Prefabricated steel structures allow quick erection, minimizing downtime, and reducing overall project costs.
By combining our durable steel structure workshops with expertly engineered indoor overhead cranes, you ensure your facility is optimized for maximum efficiency, safety, and long-term performance.
Ready to build a facility that perfectly supports your indoor overhead crane operations? Contact Aicrane today for a free consultation and custom design tailored to your project requirements. Let’s create the ideal environment and indoor lifting systems for your lifting and production success.