Konecranes has launched the "Active Yaw Control" system for its SMV 4531 reach stackers. In busy port terminals, when stacking containers 5-high, the operator in the cab often cannot see the bottom corner castings of the container. Wind loads and travel momentum can cause the suspended container to slowly rotate (yaw), making it nearly impossible to align the twistlocks with the corner castings without multiple attempts.
The new system uses two "Laser Range Finders" mounted on the spreader frame. These sensors measure the distance to the corner castings of the container below. The engineering breakthrough is the "Dynamic Chassis Counter-Rotation Logic." If the system detects the container has yawed 2 degrees to the right, the ECU instantly commands the rear axle steering to turn the entire reach stacker by a calculated 2-degree offset.
Instead of waiting for the operator to notice the misalignment and manually correct the spreader, the machine itself physically moves to align the load. Additionally, the system features "Sway Damping." When the boom is fully extended with a 40-ton container, the boom acts as a massive pendulum. The system monitors the boom tip acceleration. If a sway is detected, the system slightly extends and retracts the boom cylinder out of phase with the swing, canceling the kinetic energy. This active stabilization reduces container handling cycle times by 15% and completely eliminates container corner damage caused by hard drops.
