You cannot raise the roof and the runway is already at its elevation. Mounting the machine beside the girder rather than under it lets the hook climb past the bottom flange, and that is usually where the missing hook height comes from.
A side-mounted hoist is a wire rope hoist whose trolley grips the girder from the side rather than running under its lower flange. The machine hangs beside the web, so the hook sits off the girder centreline and can rise alongside the girder instead of stopping below it.
Type selection
Three situations bring people to this arrangement, and they are worth naming before any specification is written.
The first is a building whose height is already spent. The clear height is what it is, the roof structure cannot move, and the lift the process needs is higher than the current hook reaches. Side mounting recovers height from the geometry rather than from the building.
The second is an existing runway. Where the runway steel and its elevation are fixed and the requirement has grown, changing where the machine meets the girder is a smaller intervention than changing the structure around it. That makes this arrangement a common answer in modernisation work.
The third is span. On a long single girder the section has to be deep enough to carry the span, and a deep girder normally eats the hook path underneath it. With the machine beside the girder, depth stops competing with hook height, so a longer single-girder span stays workable.
What side mounting does not do is add capacity. The load now sits off the girder centreline, and that limit is discussed in the eccentric-load section below.
Type routing
Both are single-girder machines and both lift the same way. The difference is where the trolley meets the girder, and what that costs or buys.
An underhung machine runs on the lower flange. The wheels sit on the flange and the machine hangs directly beneath it, symmetrically, which keeps the load on the girder centreline and the calculation simple. It can often run on a beam that is already in the building.
A side-mounted machine grips the girder from the side and hangs alongside it. The hook is offset from the centreline and rises past the level where an underhung hook would stop. That is the height gain, and it is paid for with an eccentric load and an asymmetric hook approach.
Where the constraint is the building and the capacity is moderate, side mounting is the arrangement that answers it. Where the load is heavier and the geometry is ordinary, the underhung or top-running arrangements carry the work more simply.
This is the part of the arrangement that decides whether it is possible on your structure, and it belongs before the specification rather than after it.
Hanging the machine to one side moves the load off the girder centreline. The girder then carries a twisting moment as well as bending, the two end carriages no longer take equal wheel loads, and the runway sees that imbalance too. None of this is a reason to avoid side mounting. It is the reason the girder section, the end carriage and the runway have to be calculated for this arrangement specifically, rather than sized as if the machine hung underneath.
Hook approach follows the same asymmetry. The distance the hook can travel towards the machine side of the girder is not the distance it can travel towards the other side, and both figures matter when the lift has to reach a wall, a column or a fixed station.
We calculate the girder section, the wheel loads the end carriages transfer and the hook approach on each side as part of the quotation, and we say plainly when an existing structure will not take the arrangement. That is a better conversation at quotation stage than on installation day.
Technical data
Read each value with its consequence, because that is how the machine is actually sized for your structure.
Our wire rope hoists cover 250 kg to 160 tonnes as a family, and the side-mounted arrangement works in the lighter part of that band because the eccentric load sets a practical ceiling. Hoisting is stepless under inverter control, typically to 4 m/min, so the load travels quickly and then creeps into position under micro-speed; trolley travel is stepless from 4 to 16 m/min, with fixed 16 or 20 m/min available where the cycle does not need creep. Duty is set at machine level, and the machines in this family are built to FEM 1Am (ISO M4) or FEM 2m (ISO M5) — the difference between them is real running time, 30% ED at 180 starts per hour against 40% ED at 240 starts per hour. The lifting heights covered by our current selection tables run from 4 to 28 m.
| Criterion | Side-mounted | Underhung (underrunning) | Top-running (double girder) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where the trolley meets the girder | Grips the girder from the side | Wheels run on the lower flange | Runs on rails on top of both girders |
| Where the hook sits | Off the girder centreline | On the centreline, below the flange | On the centreline, between the girders |
| Hook height | Highest of the single-girder arrangements — the hook passes the bottom flange | Limited by girder depth plus the machine below it | Highest overall, at the cost of structure |
| Hook approach | Asymmetric — different on each side | Symmetric | Set by the trolley gauge |
| Load on the girder | Eccentric: bending plus torsion, unequal end-carriage wheel loads | Symmetric | Symmetric |
| Capacity band | 1.6 – 12 t on the side-mounted selection table | Lighter part of the range | Carries the top of the range |
| Typical reason to choose | Fixed building height, existing runway, long single-girder span | Existing beam usable, simple symmetric arrangement | Heavy load, long hook path, high duty |
| ABRA page | this page | single girder underhung hoist | double girder hoist |
| Parameter | Value | Consequence / note |
|---|---|---|
| Lifting capacity (SWL) | 1.6 – 12 t side-mounted; the hoist family runs to 160 t on other mountings | The eccentric load sets the practical ceiling |
| Duty class (machine level) | FEM 1Am (ISO M4) or FEM 2m (ISO M5) | Chosen from load spectrum × running time |
| Running time ratio | 30% ED · 180 starts/h (1Am / M4) · 40% ED · 240 starts/h (2m / M5) | This is what separates the two classes in practice |
| Hoisting speed | Stepless, 3.5 – 8 m/min depending on series, reeving and duty class | Standard values from the selection tables; micro-speed for placing the load |
| Trolley travel speed | 4–16 m/min to 2 t · 5–20 m/min from 3.2 t | Set with the capacity and the cycle |
| Series (side-mounted arrangement) | BR33 · BR36 | The series follows capacity, reeving and duty |
| Lifting height (machine) | 4 – 28 m standard | Longer hook paths per project |
| Machine duty class | FEM 1Am (ISO M4) or FEM 2m (ISO M5) | Crane-level duty runs FEM 1Bm–5m |
| Brake | Spring-applied electromagnetic brake — closes when power is cut | Holds the load on power loss; release ≈ 0.3 s |
| Trolley travel speed | Stepless 4–16 m/min; fixed 16 or 20 m/min | Stepless where positioning matters |
| Lifting height | 4–28 m in the current selection tables | Longer heights sized per project |
| Reeving | 2/1 · 4/1 · 6/1 · 8/1 · 12/2 | Sets drum length, rope life and hoisting speed |
| Drum diameter | Ø150 · Ø190 · Ø217 · Ø270 · Ø297 · Ø323 · Ø348 | Follows rope diameter and reeving |
| Rope | Ø6–Ø18 mm · 6×36 WS and 18×7 construction · 1960 N/mm² | Construction chosen with the reeving |
| Hoisting motor | 0.25–15 kW | Sized to capacity and duty |
| Hook | Single or double hook | Set by reeving and load type |
| Trolley wheel centres | 246–1100 mm | Follows machine size and girder |
| Girder section, end-carriage wheel loads, hook approach each side | Calculated per project | The eccentric load makes these arrangement-specific |
| Motion control | Inverter (VFD) | Soft start/stop, less shock into the girder |
| Overload protection | Overload switch + load cell, standard | The machine refuses a lift beyond its rating |
| Power supply | 380–415 V / 50 Hz (60 Hz for export) | Matches local and export grids |
| Protection class | IP54 / IP55 (motor + panel) | Dust and moisture protection |
| Ambient temperature | −10 … +50 °C | Cold-store to hot-process ranges |
| Control | Pendant / radio remote | Chosen by where the operator stands |
| ATEX version | Assessed per project | See Explosion-protected cranes |
| Standards | EN 14492-2 · EN 13001 series · ISO 4301-1 · FEM 9.511 (complementary) · EN IEC 60204-32 · CE · ISO 9001 | Duty class stated per project |
The speeds shown are standard values; other speeds are provided on request. Where a value depends on your site, it is written “per project” and confirmed with you.
Equipment
An overload switch and load cell are standard on every machine we build, so the hoist refuses a lift beyond its rating. Written under the EN 14492-2 framework for overload protection.
Soft starts and stops on hoisting and travel, which takes shock out of the girder and reduces sway on a hook that already hangs off the centreline.
Controlled from zero, so the load moves quickly and then sets down slowly enough to place accurately.
Hoisting and travel limits defined per project.
Pendant push-button or radio remote, chosen by where the operator needs to stand relative to an offset hook.
Running hours, load spectrum, brake operations and maintenance data read from the machine itself.
Assessed per project against the site's zone map; the framework is set out on the explosion-protected cranes page.
Manufacturing
“Machined, assembled and load-tested before it goes on your girder”
Applications
Side-mounted machines earn their place where the structure is the constraint rather than the load. Machining and assembly halls with a low clear height use them to reach over a fixture that a lower hook could not clear. Converted and extended buildings use them because the roof and the runway were designed for an earlier process. Maintenance and service areas use them where the lift is occasional but has to go high. And on long single-girder spans they keep the hook path intact where a deeper girder would otherwise take it.
After-sales
Maintenance is agreed under an annual contract: scheduled maintenance with four visits a year as standard, spare parts, modernisation, and on-site response within 48 hours of a call anywhere in Türkiye, with a two-year warranty. We also service, supply parts for and modernise lifting machines of other makes. One number: Crane Contact Center 444 8 440.
FAQ
An underhung machine runs on the lower flange of the girder and hangs symmetrically beneath it; a side-mounted machine grips the girder from the side and hangs alongside it. The side-mounted hook sits off the centreline and can rise past the bottom flange, which is where the extra hook height comes from. The trade is an eccentric load on the girder and a hook approach that differs on each side.
Enough that it is usually the only reason to choose the arrangement, and the exact figure comes from your geometry rather than from a table. The gain is whatever the girder depth plus the machine body would otherwise have taken out of the hook path. Send us the clear height, the girder section and the lift you need, and we will put a number against your own structure.
Often, and that is a common reason to ask about it. What decides it is whether the girder section can carry bending and torsion together, and whether the end carriages and runway can take the unequal wheel loads that follow from an off-centre load. We check the existing structure against the arrangement before anything is fitted, and we say plainly when it will not take it.
Our wire rope hoists cover 250 kg to 160 tonnes as a family, and the side-mounted arrangement sits in the lighter part of that band because the load hangs off the girder centreline. The figure your structure will actually carry is confirmed by calculation. Send us the load, the duty and the girder, and it is a short piece of engineering rather than a quotation exercise.
Get a recommendation
Send us the load, the lift you need, the clear height and the girder or runway you have. An engineer checks the section, the wheel loads and the hook approach on each side, and confirms the duty class — no obligation.
Or call 444 8 440
Your details are used only to answer your request
Designed and built to EN, FEM and ISO standards · CE marked · duty class defined per project (our build range: FEM 1Bm–5m / ISO M3–M8) · manufacturing in İzmir since 2004
