Danfoss PVG 48 valve improves precision, controllability of crane

Franna, a Terex brand, is a leading manufacturer of pick and carry cranes with a rich heritage of design and engineering excellence. For more than 40 years, Franna has been a leader in the Australian market, and today its products are at work in more than 30 countries across the globe.

Franna's MAC 25 mobile articulated crane features a maximum lifting capacity of 25 tonnes (27 tons) and a maximum boom length of 18.4 meters (60 feet). The crane offers maximum safety, excellent roadability, intuitive operation, and unmatched versatility. True to the company's heritage, the crane's design has been tested, proven, and continuously improved over the years.

In 2021, Franna began looking at other options for the MAC 25 crane's main control valve. The company required a solution that was precise, reliable, and future proof to accommodate increasingly sophisticated electronic control systems. The Danfoss PVG 48 proportional valve, then in development, emerged as the superior solution.

PVG 48 is a pre-compensated proportional control valve for applications requiring flow rates of up to 180 litres per minute. The latest member of the PVG load-sensing valve family, PVG 48 is ideal for machines such as wheel loaders, aerial lifts, and cranes in which precise flow and controllability are essential.

Danfoss launched the PVG 48 valve to the general market in June 2023 with Franna as a key pilot customer. On the MAC 25, the valve turns operator joystick inputs into quick, accurate boom movement.

The PVG is extremely precise and reliable. It does what you want it to do repeatedly, said Adam Murchie, project engineer, Franna. It's the ideal choice for MAC 25 and likely to end up in other of our cranes, too not least in future launches where more advanced electronic controls are key. We wanted a future-proof valve. PVG 48 is it.

The PVG 48 valve integrates easily with electric actuators, sensors, and digital controls, opening a range of possibilities. One of them is to automate certain machine functions so the crane assists or even takes over from the operator. Such a function can be advantageous in many situations, particularly when instant reaction is required to ensure safety.

With the change to PVG 48, Franna also switched to Danfoss counterbalance valves. Together with PVG 48, they ensure smooth and safe activation of the crane's boom.

Controllability is smooth and even very refined, said Quentin Bourke, product support technician at Franna. The initial tiny bounce on the front tires, which you sometimes see when operators raise or lower the boom, is completely gone. Extension or subtraction of the boom is impressively smooth, too.

Bourke adds that initial feedback from crane operators using MAC 25 with a PVG 48 and Danfoss counterbalance valves is positive, too. Together with Danfoss, we've managed to create the exact kind of MAC 25 crane feel that we hoped for.

The Danfoss PVG 48 proportional valve is already at work in more than 100 of Franna's MAC 25 cranes throughout Australia.