Trainee project: Historic SENNEBOGEN duty cycle crane restored to its former glory
Patrick Niemeier, an agricultural and construction machinery mechatronics technician in his fourth year of training, has been involved in a special apprentice project over the past two years: the complete restoration of a 1959 SENNEBOGEN S803 duty cycle crane. With a great deal of commitment, technical expertise, and patience, Patrick, together with his fellow apprentices and trainers, has brought this historic machine back to life – a project that demonstrates not only technical skill, but also passion.
Step by step back to the original
Weighing around 7,000 kilograms, the duty cycle crawler crane with lattice boom can lift loads of up to one tonne and looks back on a busy machine life. In use for decades, its technical condition was correspondingly challenging - but this is precisely what made the project particularly appealing to Patrick.
"We dismantled the machine from the ground up," explains the budding skilled worker. Starting with the outer panels, through the removal of the engine and gearbox, to the complete disassembly of the upper and undercarriage, every component was carefully checked. This was followed by cleaning, repairing and repainting numerous components. At the same time, bearings, bolts and bushes were replaced to compensate for the sometimes considerable tolerances that had accumulated over the years.
"It was great to see...
... how a functioning cable excavator is created from many individual parts. This project showed me how important perseverance and precision are - and how much fun technology can be."
Mastering technical challenges
The axles, which originally came from US military trucks from the Second World War, were a particular challenge. "All the bearings and oil seals are in inches. We had to build and rebuild many parts ourselves - such as new bearing seats or adapted diameters - to make everything tight and functional again," explains Patrick. The apprentice was also fascinated by the 2-cylinder Deutz engine: "The technology is so simple that you can still really work on it. We were lucky to find all the parts and the engine is now running beautifully again."
Two years of commitment, one great result
After two years of intensive work, Patrick now stands proudly in front of the fully restored machine. The project is an impressive demonstration of what is possible with commitment, patience, teamwork and technical expertise . For Patrick himself, it was not only a technical challenge, but also a valuable experience.
