Headroom

Headroom is the dimension from the suspension of the hoist to the hook saddle in the highest hook position. The hook never gets closer to the ceiling than this. Data sheets also call it the headroom dimension or minimum headroom.

But the hoist is only one link in the chain. Between the hall ceiling and the workpiece lie the track with its suspension, the trolley, the hoist, the load handling attachment and – with multi-leg slings – the height the legs need at their angle of inclination.

The calculation runs downwards from the underside of the track: underside of track minus headroom of the hoist minus height of the attachment minus height of the workpiece gives the level at which the underside of the workpiece hangs in the top position.

An example with assumed dimensions: underside of track 3.20 m, headroom 0.45 m, spreader beam 0.30 m, workpiece 0.60 m high. The underside of the workpiece reaches 1.85 m at most. If it has to be lifted over a machine edge at 1.70 m, 15 cm of clearance remains – sufficient, but only just.

In halls that have grown over time, centimetres are lost in places easily overlooked during planning.

Height can be recovered at every link. The track can be placed between rather than below the trusses. Low-headroom hoists arrange the drive beside rather than above the hook. Rigid lifting axes need no hook block; their gripper sits directly on the axis.

The most is often gained at the attachment itself: a low-profile gripper that takes the workpiece from the side rather than from above saves more than any special hoist design.