Going Underground at the Cyclotron Centre
A 2.9 tonne capacity UNIC mini spider crane travelled to the Cyclotron Research Centre in Louvain-la-Neuve in Belgium to carry out a tricky lift in an underground bunker.
At this facility, research is carried out into how cyclotrons can be used for various scientific tests. A cyclotron is a type of particle accelerator which creates intense strong ion beams.
The UNIC URW-295 mini crane was hired to install 20 concrete plates into the underground bunker as they were lifted down by a mobile crane working from the ground above. The plates weighed 200 to 600kgs each and were 6 metres by 2 metres wide.
It took three days for the mini crane to lift each concrete panel onto the overhead supports. As there was very limited space inside the bunker, the crane had to be folded up and moved underneath the supports so there was enough room for some of the panels to be lifted down.
