How to Choose a Guindaste for a Armazém

Armazém crane selection is not the same as factory crane selection. Your building may already exist, your column grid is fixed, and your throughput target is measured in lifts per hour, not tons per year. The three variables that decide most warehouse crane projects are crane type (LD single-girder vs. KBK light rail), available headroom, and duty cycle. Get these wrong and you either lose lifting height or burn out a hoist in eighteen months.

Step 1: Match the Guindaste Tipo to the Load and the Bay

LD single-girder overhead crane (0.5–20 t)

The LD is the default choice for a warehouse bay with a 12–24 m span, a 3–5 t typical load, and an existing or planned runway beam on the building columns. It runs on a single girder with an guindaste elétrico trolley underneath, so the hook approach is good and the dead weight on your runway is lower than a double-girder machine. For palletized goods, steel coils, or moulds up to 20 t, an LD with a CD or MD hoist covers most warehouse work.

KBK light rail systems (0.125–2 t)

If your loads are under 2 t and your real problem is coverage rather than capacity, KBK light rail is usually the better investment. KBK is a modular track system — straight sections, curves, switches, and articulated joints — that lets one operator serve several workstations, a staging lane, and a packing bench without moving the load to a crane. It bolts to the roof structure or to freestanding posts, so it does not require runway beams on your columns. Typical warehouse uses: order-picking of heavy cartons, tool and die handling, and loading dock transfer.

When to step up to LH or QD double-girder

Go to an LH hoist double-girder (5–50 t) or QD universal double-girder (5–150 t) when loads exceed 20 t, when you need a tight hook approach on both sides, or when the crane must handle a spreader beam, magnet, or grab. Double-girder cranes also tolerate higher duty classes better because the trolley runs on top of the girders rather than under a single beam.

Step 2: Solve the Headroom Problem Before You Buy

Headroom is where most warehouse crane projects fail. The number you need is the distance from the top of your highest obstruction (usually the roof truss bottom chord or a sprinkler main) to the highest point of the load plus rigging.

LD with low-headroom hoist: the hoist sits close to the girder, giving a hook height roughly 500–900 mm below the girder top, depending on capacity. This is the standard fix for buildings with 6–8 m eaves.
KBK: the lowest profile option. Track depth is tipicamente 100–200 mm, and the trolley rides inside or under the profile, so you can gain 300–600 mm of hook height compared with a conventional single-girder crane.
Double-girder with top-running trolley: highest hook height for a given building height, but the girder depth is greater. Use this when you have 9 m or more of clear height and heavy loads.

Practical rule: measure the actual lowest steel, not the nominal eaves height. A 7.5 m eaves building often has only 6.8 m of usable height once purlins and services are accounted for.

Step 3: Size the Duty Class to Your Throughput

Throughput is the variable buyers most often underestimate. A crane that lifts 20 times a day is a different machine from one that lifts 200 times a day.

Under 50 lifts/day, light loads: LD or KBK with a standard CD/MD hoist is fine. Duty class M3–M5 (FEM 1.001) is adequate.
50–200 lifts/day, continuous shifts: specify a higher-duty hoist and consider an MD hoist (two-speed) or a variable-frequency drive on the long travel. Duty class M5–M6.
Over 200 lifts/day or 24/7 operation: move to a double-girder crane with an M6–M7 duty hoist, and budget for a spare hoist or a quick-swap trolley. This is also where a QDS smart unmanned crane or an electric-servo manipulator can remove the operator from the cycle entirely.

Ask your supplier for the hoist's rated number of starts per hour and its duty class in writing. A crane rated 5 t at M3 will not survive a 5 t load at M6 for long.

Step 4: Check the Building, Power, and Controls

Runway and columns: confirm the column can take the vertical and lateral loads. For KBK, confirm the roof structure can take the point loads, or plan freestanding posts.
Power supply: festoon, conductor rail, or energy chain. For long travel runs over 30 m, conductor rail is usually more reliable.
Controls: pendant, radio remote, or cabin. Radio remote is standard for warehouse cranes because it lets the operator stand clear of the load.
Components: specify Schneider, Siemens, ABB, or SEW drives and controls if you need spares availability in your region. Steel should be Q345B for the girder and Q235B for secondary structure.

Step 5: Confirm Normas and Certificação for Your Market

Design to GB/T 3811 as the baseline. If your project is in the EU, request FEM 1.001 or DIN 15018 calculation; for América do Norte, CMAA #70. Certificações matter at import: CE for Europa, EAC (TR CU 010/020) for Rússia and the EAEU, GCC/SASO for the Gulf, SONCAP for Nigéria, and KEBS for Quênia. Ask for the certificate scope to cover the exact model and capacity you are buying, not just the factory.

Quick Selection Guide

Under 2 t, multi-station coverage, low headroom: KBK light rail.
0.5–20 t, single bay, standard headroom: LD single-girder with low-headroom hoist.
5–50 t, heavy or frequent lifts: LH hoist double-girder.
5–150 t, high duty or special attachments: QD universal double-girder.
High-throughput, repetitive handling: QDS smart unmanned crane or an electric-servo manipulator.

Chunhua Guindaste supplies all five categories — 81 standard models — from its manufacturing base in Hefei, Anhui, with no MOQ, a 4-hour quote turnaround, 30–45 day production, and a 12-month warranty. For a warehouse crane selection review, send your span, lift height, load, and lifts per day to yuhua0095@gmail.com or WhatsApp +86 193 9277 7259.

How to Choose a Guindaste for a Armazém