What Is An Overhead Crane

An overhead crane, or bridge crane, is a crucial industrial lifting solution for heavy-duty handling. It features a bridge-shaped main girder supported by end trucks on overhead rails, with a hoist trolley that moves vertically and horizontally to lift and transport loads. In daily life, an overhead crane is widely used in manufacturing factories, warehouses, workshops, harbors, etc. Available in single-girder type (for lighter loads, 1-20 tons) or double-girder type (for heavier tasks, 5-500 tons), an overhead crane optimizes industrial workspace utilization by leveraging overhead space.

Here, an overhead crane is introduced in detail, including its definition, structure and components, working principle, application, specs etc. This article will make you learn more info about an overhead crane for your needs.

Single Girder Overhead Crane

40 Ton Double Girder EOT Crane For Sale

What is an overhead crane？

An overhead crane, also known as a bridge crane, is a heavy-duty lifting equipment specifically for industrial load handling. It is installed above workspaces like factories, warehouses, and manufacturing plants. It operates along fixed overhead rails, unlike mobile cranes that require ground space. It maximizes floor area for other operations while avoiding ground space waste.​ Designed to meet international safety standards (CE, ISO, EAC etc.), it eliminates the need for manual handling of bulky items and reduces workplace injuries while boosting efficiency.

Its core structure consists of high-strength steel main girders, end trucks with frequency-conversion motors, a hoist trolley, and a hoisting mechanism equipped with brakes and wire ropes. It can handle loads ranging from light 1-32 ton (for small workshops) to heavy 500 tons (for heavy industry). The overhead crane has three flexible control methods: a cab (for complex operations with visual assistance), a remote control (for long-distance operation away from hazardous areas), or a handheld pendant (for close-range fine adjustments).​

European Single Girder Suspension Crane

European Double Girder Overhead Crane

Overhead Crane Structure And Parts

The bridge crane consists of main girder, end girder, trolley running mechanism, Overhead Travel Mechanism, hoisting mechanism, rail, cab, walking platform and other parts. The functional characteristics of each part are as follows:

• Main beam: Installation of rails for lateral movement of the trolley.
• End beam: Mounting Bridge Travel Mechanism.
• Lifting mechanism: Device to move the hook up and down.
• Cable: Powering the trolley.
• Walkway: Walking paths for overhaul and post-maintenance.
• Cabs: The operator’s control station for safe and precise operation.
• Trolley Travel Mechanism: Lateral movement of the trolley.
• Overhead Travel Mechanism: Longitudinal movement of the crane.

Main Beam

End Beam

Motor and Cable

Electrical Control System

Overhead Crane Components Function

An overhead crane, stands as a linchpin in modern industrial material handling, facilitating the seamless movement of heavy loads within factories, ports, and warehouses.

• This lifting system operates on a modular design principle, with its primary structural component being the robust main girder. Resembling a horizontal bridge, the main girder spans the width of the designated workspace, creating a functional lifting corridor that maximizes operational coverage.
• Supporting this main structure are the end trucks. Equipped with high-capacity wheels and precision-engineered bearings, these end trucks glide along elevated I-beam rails, ensuring smooth lateral movement across the facility. The stability and maneuverability of the end trucks are critical, as they bear the combined weight of the main girder, hoist trolley, and suspended loads.
• The hoist trolley, mounted on the main girder, represents the crane's dynamic lifting apparatus. Integrated with a powerful electric or hydraulic hoisting mechanism, it enables the vertical movement of loads with exceptional control and precision.
• The trolley's traversing system allows for horizontal displacement along the length of the main girder, providing multi-axis movement capabilities that enhance operational flexibility. This combination of vertical hoisting and horizontal traversing allows overhead cranes to position loads with millimeter-level accuracy, making them indispensable for tasks ranging from heavy machinery assembly to container handling in busy port terminals.

Overhead Crane Working Principle And 3D Animation

Overhead cranes realize three-dimensional load handling through the coordinated operation of core components, relying on electric power and mechanical transmission.​

Longitudinal movement: The end trucks installed at both ends of the main girder are equipped with frequency conversion motors and driving wheels. When powered on, the motors drive the wheels to roll along the fixed overhead rails, enabling the entire crane (including the main girder and hoist trolley) to move back and forth across the workspace, covering the length of the operation area.​

Transverse movement: The hoist trolley is mounted on the guide rail of the main girder. Its built-in motor drives the trolley wheels to run along the girder, allowing the trolley (and the hoisting mechanism it carries) to move left and right, covering the width of the operation area.​

Vertical lifting: The hoisting mechanism on the trolley consists of a motor, a wire rope drum, and a hook. The motor drives the drum to rotate forward or reverse, winding or unwinding the wire rope to lift or lower the hook, thereby completing the vertical movement of loads.​

All movements are controlled by a cab, remote, or pendant, with built-in brakes and overload protection to ensure stable, safe operation.

Overhead Crane Types

An overhead crane can move in a workshop, production line or warehouse to lift materials. There are different types of overhead cranes. And the features and application environments of different types are also different. Dafang Crane, as a professional overhead crane manufacturer and supplier, offers diverse overhead cranes. Such as single girder overhead crane, double girder overhead crane, suspension overhead crane, KBK light overhead crane etc.

If you want to choose the most suitable types of overhead cranes to enhance the productivity of your factory. The following article will bring you a comprehensive understanding of the different types of bridge cranes and their application scenarios.

Single Girder Overhead Crane

Single Girder Overhead Crane

NLX Single Girder Overhead Crane

A single girder overhead crane is a lightweight industrial lifting device with a single main girder as its core structure, supported by end trucks running on overhead rail. It consists of a single bridge, two end trolleys, and a trolley hoist.

Typically, it has the lifting capacity of 1-32 tons, ideal for medium-light duty tasks. Its compact design uses less material than double-girder models, reducing installation and building load costs.

Widely used in factories, warehouses, and workshops, it maximizes floor space while meeting CE/ISO international safety standards. So a single girder overhead crane is a cost-effective solution for efficient material handling.

Double girder overhead crane

Double Girder Trolley Overhead Crane

European Double Girder Overhead Crane

The double girder overhead crane features two parallel steel main girders, built for heavy-load tasks (20-500 tons) that exceed single-girder cranes’ capacity.

It consists of two bridges, two end cars and one or two trolley hoist assemblies. The trolley hoist travels on tracks mounted on top of the bridges. Its dual-girder design boosts stability, minimizing deflection when lifting ultra-heavy items like steel coils or ship hull parts.

Among them, the European double girder bridge crane is an important material handling equipment. It is widely used in industrial and mining enterprises, steel and chemical industries, etc.

Users prefer to choose it for its simple structure, good stability, smooth operation, and large lifting capacity.

Suspension overhead crane

LX Suspension Overhead Crane

A suspension overhead crane is a space-saving lifting device. It is installed by hanging its end trucks directly from a building’s roof load-bearing beams, no ground support columns or rails needed.

It has compact structure, wide coverage range and high space utilization. It typically has a load capacity range of 0.5 to 20 tons. It is suitable for small workshops, electronics factories, and logistics warehouses.

KBK Light Overhead Crane

Flexible Single Girder Workstation Crane

KBK Rigid Single Girder Overhead Crane

KBK Light Overhead Crane is a compact, efficient lifting solution for light-duty tasks (0.5-10 tons), widely used in small workshops, assembly lines, and logistics areas. It has two main types:​

• Flexible KBK Crane: Adopts modular suspended rails (aluminum or steel). It offers high installation flexibility—rails can be curved or branched to fit irregular workshop layouts. Suitable for scattered, frequent light-load handling (e.g., moving 0.5-3.2 ton electronic components or small mechanical parts), with smooth movement and low noise, avoiding interference with ground operations.​

• Rigid KBK Crane: Features fixed rigid rails (single or double beams) for better stability. It handles slightly heavier loads (3-10 tons) and ensures precise positioning (e.g., transferring 5-ton precision molds or semi-finished products). Its rigid structure reduces rail deformation. Ideal for small-scale manufacturing assembly lines or medium-sized material storage areas.

What is an overhead crane used for？

An Overhead crane is mainly used for material handling and has a variety of functions to efficiently accomplish the loading, unloading, handling, and stacking of goods.

• Manufacturing Industry: In automotive workshops and heavy machinery plants, it handles key production tasks. Such as lifting 50-ton engine blocks for excavators, positioning 10-ton aircraft components during assembly or moving large mold sets for plastic injection molding. Its precise control movement ensures components align accurately, cutting assembly time by 30% and reducing worker injury risks from manual heavy lifting.​

• Warehousing & Logistics: At ports, distribution centers, and bulk cargo yards, it loads/unloads 20-40 ton shipping containers from trucks/trains and transfers 15-ton grain or coal piles to storage silos. By using overhead space, it avoids ground rail congestion. It allows 24/7 continuous operation and increasing warehouse storage capacity by 40% compared to ground-based equipment.​

• Construction & Infrastructure: For high-rise building construction or bridge projects, it lifts 30-ton steel beams, 25-ton precast concrete slabs, or heavy construction machinery (e.g., small cranes) to upper floors. Its ability to operate in narrow construction sites (via transverse trolley movement) eliminates the need for large mobile cranes, saving site space and reducing equipment rental costs.​

• Waste Management & Recycling: In waste treatment plants or scrap yards, it grabs 10-30 ton scrap metal piles, plastic waste bales, or municipal solid waste and transfers them to processing machines (e.g., shredders). Its corrosion-resistant hoisting mechanism (with protective coatings) withstands harsh waste environments, ensuring stable daily operation for 8+ hours.

Plants

Workstation

Factories

Warehousing

Logistics Center

Processing Lines

Overhead Crane Specification

Notice: The items listed only for reference. Customizable solutions are available.

Price​

Conclusion

Now, I am sure that you must have got a comprehensive understanding of overhead cranes and their working application environments. And you must know how to choose the most suitable types of overhead cranes to improve the work efficiency of your factory.

If you want to know more about gantry cranes, jib cranes, port cranes or crane parts, feel free to contact our technicians and our business manager. We will offer you professional guidance and support.