Lift system for yachts

Profile

• What was needed: E4 series energy chains; drylin® W linear profile guides; iglidur® plain bearings
• Requirements: high corrosion resistance, use in confined installation spaces, long service life, lubrication-free and maintenance-free, narrow bend radius
• Industry: Boats/Yachts
• Success for the customer: the chain types and materials have been specially tested for the application; the e-chains made of igumid offer high strength and a long service life and are also cost-effective, the drylin® profile guides are corrosion-free and travel smoothly even with boats weighing up to 600kg

Movable or pivoting platforms are a popular extra on yachts. They can be used to conveniently lower dinghies and jet skis into the water.

Problem

A yacht is usually accompanied by another boat: a compact light boat or jet ski that takes passengers from the anchorage to shore and back again. This is where a lift system, platform or garage comes into play.
H+B technics GmbH & Co. KG focuses on this market. Every year, around 1,000 lift systems with load capacities of 350 to 2,500 kg are designed and built.
The first lift systems that H+B developed and built around twenty years ago are still in use today. This speaks for the structure but also for the individual components, which also include the energy supply system. These have to be able to do a lot. For example, around two thirds of the lift systems are permanently under water, which is why they have to be extremely corrosion-free and therefore made of high-quality stainless steel.
In addition, installation space is an important issue, as the space for the swivel drive is very limited.
Further requirements for the chain: they must be lubrication-free, maintenance-free and corrosion-free and generally achieve a long service life under adverse environmental conditions. A tight bend radius is also important here.
And yet another special H+B solution is used for large yachts with a garage. Here, an overhead crane was developed and manufactured which picks up the boat and moves it into the parking position via a winch. In order for the crane's trolley to be able to travel, linear profile guides are required, which, like the energy chains, should be resistant to seawater and also maintenance-free. In addition, they should not require lubrication and achieve a long service life under the special operating conditions. In addition, a low breakaway torque is required, even after a longer downtime, as well as a low weight.

Solution

During the project planning phase, the H+B designers, together with our specialists, tested various chain types and materials for their suitability for the application.
Tests in the 3,800 square-metre test laboratory showed that H+B does not have to use any special materials, but can use E4 energy chains made of the standard material igumid. This also offers cost advantages. Together with igus, H+B specified four E4.28 chain lengths for the energy supply in the lift systems, which are purchased ready for installation with interior separation and connection.
The E4 series chains are ideally suited for installation in confined spaces because they make very good use of the available installation space. They are easy to fill and the "undercut design" of the individual chain links ensures high strength of the entire chain and long service life.
igus products are also used for the other H+B special solution, the overhead crane, which can pick a boat up and park it in the garage via a winch. The trolley of the crane travels with the help of a drylin® W linear profile guide made of stainless steel. The associated guide carriage is also made of corrosion-free stainless steel. And the sliding elements are made of iglidur® high-performance polymers with incorporated lubricant.
However, the stainless-steel profile guides, just like the energy chains, also prove their worth in the lift systems from H+B technics. They are also used here in other linear technology applications, for example, as guide carriages for moving platforms. Our energy chains and profile guides are often installed in the systems that H+B supplies to Europe's yacht manufacturers - and contribute to the long service life of the high-quality lift systems.

H+B has been designing and manufacturing compact drive systems for yacht lifts and platforms for 20 years.

For linear drive tasks, H+B technics uses the drylin W profile guides made of corrosion-free stainless steel.

The energy supply to the lift systems is ensured by means of E4.28 energy chains.

Well packed: energy chain in a lift system from H+B. The extremely compact design requires a chain with a small bend radius.