Winches And Capstans

Today we disguss something different. While you are used to us writiing in Dutch, we will be writing in English now to reach a bigger audience. Today’s subject will be about capstans. So what are capstans? They are self-braking worm gears. They can drive on different kinds of motors. Such motors are:

  • Electric
  • Hydraulic
  • Pneumatic

They are different kind of hydraulic systems. They can be categorized as simple, mobile, industrial en special systems. Each has their unique settings to be used in. In simple systems it is a common to have cheap components and don’t need a lot of energie to actually work. Hydraulic systems are usually used in mobile systems like airplanes. This requires high quality components. Industrial systems are used in winches. Offshore ships use a lot of hydraulic systems.
Special systems may be, for example, (passive) heave compensation systems, where a number of cylinders is connected to a hydro-pneumatic medium separator and a gas volume, causing a huge spring is created. These systems are often specifically designed for the application and use the best components for the highest quality possible.