When people think about cranes, they are generally thinking about the huge construction cranes that can be seen at the site of every new building going up. But those aren't the places you will find cranes, and they aren't the only kind of cranes out there. Since cranes are designed to lift a heavier load than any person could lift and move it from point A to point B. One kind of crane that gets used in a lot of industrial settings is a bridge or overhead crane. 

Overhead Crane

An overhead crane runs along tracks and will lift the load and carry it along a horizontal plane on a fixed path. They generally aren't free moving in the way that a construction crane is. One of those cranes can put a load down in a variety of places, whereas a bridge crane has a prescribed path that it must follow. In some settings, the crane might be able to switch from one set of tracks to another in order to move the load, but it will only be able to travel along certain paths. 

Uses for Overhead Cranes

One of the most visible places where you will find an overhead crane is at a cargo transfer facility. They can be used to load and unload cargo ships, trains, and trucks. When it comes to the large cargo ships, the crane can pick up the shipping container, which could weigh more than a ton, depending on what's in it, lift it up and then put it on a truck or train so that it can get taken to where it needs to go. You will also see these cranes at various factories and such, especially if they are working with heavy material. For example, you might see an overhead crane at a foundry because the crane can pick up the heavy crucible and move it from the smelter to wherever the molten metal is going to be poured. At the end of the process, another crane can then move the finished metal to a shipping dock so that it can get shipped out to other facilities where it can be used or further worked. 

Construction cranes aren't the end-all-be-all of cranes. There are other kinds of cranes, and they can do more than just help to build a new building. Cranes are necessary in just about any industry that needs to move heavy loads from one place to another. For more information, contact a company like American Equipment Inc.