Crane front drive axle LTQ30 | Manufacturer example ACE | Shandong Lutong
Shandong Roadong actively participates in the development of new models of large-size equipment for the Indian manufacturer ACE. In particular, it is engaged in targeted development of the front front drive axle for the LTQ30 crane. After conducting tests on scaffolding and at construction sites in South Asia, the company has ensured stable supplies of products in large volumes. In addition, it provides global construction equipment manufacturers with services for synchronous component supply for new models and custom development of drive axles.
ACE (Action Construction Equipment Limited) is a leading manufacturer of core crane components in India and South Asia. For several decades, it has been engaged in the development and production of rough-terrain cranes and truck cranes. The company has a strict supplier admission system and high standards for finished-product testing. Its products are widely represented in the infrastructure construction markets of India, South Asia, and the Middle East, which gives it high brand recognition and a significant market share in the region's construction machinery industry.
This collaboration is not about replacing or modernizing outdated components, but about a new project to develop original components for the new-generation ACE 30-ton off-road crane. During the preliminary planning stage of the project, ACE put forward higher requirements for reliability, adaptability to operating conditions, and conformity to benchmark parameters for key drivetrain components. Shandong Lutong Heavy Industry, drawing on its extensive experience in independently developing and manufacturing undercarriages for construction machinery, joined parallel development early and created a custom undercarriage for the LTQ30 crane. The product successively underwent 3D modeling and verification, laboratory durability and cyclic testing, and prolonged field testing on a real crane installation at a construction site in India. All indicators were approved by ACE during a comprehensive evaluation, after which the product was officially included in the standard component list for the new model and moved to the stage of continuous serial supply.
This landmark new project vividly demonstrates the comprehensive capabilities of Shandong Lutong and leading construction machinery manufacturers: simultaneous development of new products, their customized implementation, and stable mass production followed by delivery. This serves as reliable confirmation of the company’s readiness to cooperate with construction machinery manufacturers in India, South Asia, Central Asia, and other regions of the world — in particular, to jointly develop new projects and manufacture specialized bridge cranes made to custom orders.
About the LTQ30 crane drive axle
The LTQ30 crane drive axle is a specialized axle developed by Shandong Lutong Heavy Industry specifically for 30-ton off-road mobile cranes. It is manufactured in-house at all stages of production and is a key component of the off-road crane’s drivetrain, performing three critical functions: power transmission, load support, and braking.
Considering the typical operating conditions of off-road cranes — frequent lifting and lowering of loads, high-load off-road travel, impacts from uneven road surfaces, and prolonged exposure to high temperatures and sandstorms — during the development phase we specially reinforced four main structures: the differential mechanism, the main reducer mechanism, the axle housing, and the brake mechanism.
The bridge housing is manufactured by die casting from a high-strength alloy, which increases its resistance to impacts and twisting. The transmission elements have undergone precision grinding, thanks to which power losses and operating noise levels have been reduced. In the braking system, the cooling system design has been reinforced, which makes it possible to mitigate the problem of thermal reduction in braking efficiency during continuous operation. This made it possible to solve a number of problems characteristic of similar bridges in the industry: rapid wear, insufficient strength margin, reduced braking efficiency, and increased noise levels.
In terms of structural layout, the LTQ30 drive axle adopts a compact integrated design, which saves chassis space and simplifies the routing of pipelines and the arrangement of the frame on the vehicle. The standardized version has well-established and stable mounting dimensions and load parameters, ensuring the feasibility of its mass production. At the same time, leveraging our research and development capabilities, we provide flexible customization: the axle can be adapted to the specific requirements of the customer’s new vehicle models—taking into account their dimensions, axle load distribution, mounting interfaces, and brake control logic—so as to meet the dimensional and load requirements of various models.
Before products leave the factory, a full set of inspections is carried out, including non-destructive testing, load testing, measurement of transmission noise levels, and calibration of braking characteristics. A complete record of inspection results is kept for each production batch, ensuring that the supplied products meet the established requirements. This makes it possible both to carry out standardized series production and, in parallel, to develop prototypes and make changes within new OEM projects.
Problems faced by customers:
The new 30-ton ACE off-road crane is aimed at operation on construction sites in South Asian conditions. The equipment is operated for extended periods under high temperatures, heavy dust, and uneven dirt roads. The main operating mode involves moving large-sized loads over rough terrain and repeatedly performing lifting and lowering operations. During the development phase of the new model, the ACE engineering team found that the universal drive axles existing on the market do not meet the design requirements of this crane: most such axles are designed for operation under standard conditions, and under prolonged continuous operation in the harsh conditions of South Asia they are prone to accelerated wear of the gears, deformation of the axle housing, a noticeable reduction in braking system efficiency, and exceeding the permissible noise level. This directly affects the stability of the crane’s operation, shortens maintenance intervals, and may negatively affect ACE’s reputation after the new model is launched on the market. In addition, since this is a completely new model developed by the company independently, the chassis layout, axle load distribution, and electrical control scheme of the crane are all implemented according to a new design. Accordingly, the existing standard drive axles are unsuitable in terms of mounting points, connection dimensions, and technical specifications. ACE urgently needs a drive axle manufacturer with pre-synchronous development capabilities — one that can follow the crane’s development pace and participate in design, prototype manufacturing, and multiple verification iterations, rather than being limited to supplying off-the-shelf products.
Our solution
The development team of Shandong Lutong Company deeply integrated the new ACE project into the development chain, establishing online and offline collaborative work with ACE engineers on whole-vehicle design. As a result, all input parameters were obtained synchronously — the overall vehicle layout, rated axle loads, ground clearance, braking requirements, and operating and environmental conditions. Based on these data, an optimized drive scheme for the LTQ30 bridge crane was developed, aimed at achieving overall goals for the entire vehicle.
Development is carried out in strict accordance with the OEM equipment development and verification system for construction machinery: first, extreme impact loads, sustained overloads, and high-temperature operating conditions are simulated through modeling, which allows weak points in the design to be optimized in advance. Then durability and cyclic testing are performed on the test bench — during these, extreme operating conditions typical of construction sites are reproduced, such as shaking and frequent stops and starts. Data on temperature, vibration, wear, and braking force are collected, after which iterative optimization of transmission and brake system components is carried out. Finally, a comprehensive verification of compliance with ACE requirements is conducted.
In addition to the approved solution for the LTQ30 drive bridge crane, this development model can be applied to all new projects of the world’s leading manufacturers. We can adjust the crane bridge housing design, the flange connection design, the gear ratio, and the braking type in accordance with the design requirements of your new model. This will make it possible to supply and verify prototypes in stages, jointly monitor the project milestones, shorten the development cycle of the entire equipment, and reduce the cost of testing and debugging new products.
Participate in the same new supply chain support project with leading equipment manufacturers in India
Being selected to participate in a project to develop completely new models by major equipment manufacturers such as ACE, and successfully passing a series of rigorous modeling, bench testing, and verification processes, is the most intuitive and convincing confirmation of the research and development, design, production processes, quality control system, and project implementation capabilities of Shandong Lutong Heavy Industry. Shandong Lutong Heavy Industry is a large manufacturing enterprise specializing in the production of steering axles for construction machinery. It has built its own research and development laboratory, pilot production workshop, intelligent process line, and an independent testing center that fully covers the entire chain of program development, simulation analysis, sample trial production, reliability testing, and mass production. We are familiar with the differences in operating conditions at construction sites in different regions of the world, the OEM equipment development process, certification specifications, and the delivery rhythm of major equipment manufacturers, and have long served leading construction machinery brands in India, Central Asia, Russia, and many other countries. The ACE-developed support project for the LTQ30 crane front steering axle is a reliable benchmark for equipment manufacturers worldwide. When you begin research and development of completely new models of cranes, construction machinery, and equipment, you can choose a steering axle research and development team similar to ACE, which significantly reduces the time and financial risks associated with component selection, failed testing, and verification.
Invitation to cooperation
If you are working on the development of new crane models or off-road construction machinery and are looking for an OEM supplier of drive axle transmissions that can provide synchronous development and iterations, or if you need to develop a specialized drive axle transmission solution tailored to specific operating conditions, contact us: we will discuss technical solutions, provide drawings, and arrange sample evaluation.