1. Understanding Variable-Geometry Outriggers
Deployment Lesson
KBT 4.1
Welcome to KBT four-point-one, Understanding Variable-Geometry Outriggers. This is the first topic for the Deployment Lesson. This lesson covers all SPYDERCRANE Micro-Crawlers: 094-, 095-, and 200-Series.

2. Topic Overview and Contents
This Lesson Topic (Understanding Variable-Geometry Outriggers) is designed to provide you with an overview of your SPYDERCRANE’s OUTRIGGERS and how they can be DEPLOYED to adjust the DEPLOYMENT FOOTPRINT
You will learn about:
How VARIABLE GEOMETRY (VG) OUTRIGGERS work
How VG Outriggers can influence the size and shape of the SPYDERCRANE’s DEPLOYMENT FOOTPRINT
DEPLOYMENT PATTERNS and PROHIBITED ZONES
DEPLOYMENT STATES and RATED LOAD CAPACITIES
It is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to read and understand the user manuals included with your SPYDERCRANE and the warning decals posted on it
This Lesson Topic covers the 094-,095-, and 200-Series SPYDERCRANE
This lesson topic covers Variable-Geometry Outriggers, what they are, how they work, and how you will use them when deploying your SPYDERCRANE.

3. Learning Objective(s)
DLO 4.1.1: Explain the function and purpose of VARIABLE-GEOMETRY OUTRIGGERS.
DLO 4.1.2: Define DEPLOYMENT FOOTPRINT.
DLO 4.1.3: Define LIMITED ACCESS/RESTRICTED GEOMETRY ENVIRONMENTS.
DLO 4.1.4: Identify the two major components of the VARIABLE-GEOMETRY OUTRIGGERS.
DLO 4.1.5: Define DEPLOYMENT PIVOT, OUTRIGGER KNEE, ANKLE EXTENSION, and OUTRIGGER FOOT.
DLO 4.1.6: Explain the relationship between the DEPLOYMENT PIVOT, the DEPLOYMENT ANGLE, and DEPLOYMENT PATTERN.

4. Learning Objective(s)
DLO 4.1.7: Explain the relationship between the OUTRIGGER KNEE and ANKLE EXTENSION and the DEPLOYMENT STATE.
DLO 4.1.8: Explain the difference between the NOT-MAX-EXT and MAX-EXT DEPLOYMENT STATES.
DLO 4.1.9: Define the OPTIMUM DEPLOYMENT PATTERN and the NON-OPTIMUM DEPLOYMENT PATTERN.
DLO : Explain the relationship between using the NON-OPTIMUM DEPLOYMENT PATTERN and PROHIBITED ZONES.
DLO : Explain how DEPLOYMENT STATES effect the RATED LOAD CAPACITY of the SPYDERCRANE.

5. Variable-Geometry Outriggers
All SPYDERCRANE Micro-Crawlers (094-, 095-, 200-Series) are equipped with VARIABLE-GEOMETRY OUTRIGGERS
Each outrigger has THREE points of articulation and are capable of being maneuvered for both vertical and horizontal positioning
…By allowing you to change the SIZE and SHAPE of the DEPLOYMENT FOOTPRINT
    All SPYDERCRANE Micro-Crawlers are equipped with VARIABLE-GEOMETRY (VG) OUTRIGGERS. VG-Outriggers are contrasted with the conventional FIXED-AXIS OUTRIGGER design. 
    Each of the SPYDERCRANE's outriggers have 3 points of articulation which allows them to be adjusted for length, height, and deployment angle. In other words, the VG-Outrigger ENABLES you to change the SIZE and SHAPE of your SPYDERCRANE's DEPLOYMENT FOOTPRINT.
    In turn, VG-Outriggers allow you to deploy and use your SPYDERCRANE Micro-Crawler in LIMITED-ACCESS/RESTRICTED GEOMETRY ENVIRONMENTS. 
Variable-Geometry Outriggers allow you to deploy your SPYDERCRANE into Limited- Access/Restricted Geometry Environments…

6. Deployment Footprint
The DEPLOYMENT FOOTPRINT is the amount of space that the mobile crane requires for deployment/setup
    The DEPLOYMENT FOOTPRINT is the amount of ground space that a mobile crane takes up when it is deployed for lifting operations. For mobile cranes, like your SPYDERCRANE, the most efficient shape for the deployment footprint is square. A square-shaped deployment footprint allows the SPYDERCRANE to lift the same amount of weight whether the boom is slewed over the front, rear, or sides of the SPYDERCRANE.
    Like most conventional mobile cranes, your SPYDERCRANE's VG-Outriggers can be deployed at different length settings, which allows you to change the SIZE of its deployment footprint. A smaller footprint enables the SPYDERCRANE to be deployed using less space, at the cost of reduced lifting capacity. 
    In this image, you can see the various deployment footprint sizes of the 095-/200-Series SPYDERCRANE. 
Like most crane systems, SPYDERCRANEs have outriggers with multiple length settings
For your SPYDERCRANE, this means that you can change the size of the Deployment Footprint

7. Limited Access/Restricted Geometry
The unique feature of Variable-Geometry (VG) Outriggers is that they allow the SPYDERCRANE operator to not only change the SIZE of the Deployment Footprint, but also it’s SHAPE
This allows the SPYDERCRANE Micro-Crawler to de deployed in Limited Access/Restricted Geometry environments: places that are too small, or have obstacles that prevent the deployment of conventional cranes
    The unique feature of the VG-Outrigger-equipped SPYDERCRANE Micro-Crawler is that you can also change the SHAPE of the deployment footprint, as well as the size. 
    It's this ability that ultimately allows you to deploy in places that are too small, and/or have obstacles that would prevent the deployment of a more conventionally-equipped mobile crane. For example, you can deploy you SPYDERCRANE in a hallway that's only six feet wide, which is too small for even the SPYDERCRANE, if it wasn't equipped with VG-Outriggers. These environments are referred to as LIMITED ACCESS/RESTRICTED-GEOMETRY ENVIRONMENTS.

8. Breaking Down the VG Outrigger
Each VG Outrigger is composed two MAJOR COMPONENTS: the UPPER OUTRIGGER and the LOWER OUTRIGGER
Upper Outrigger
Lower Outrigger
The Upper Outrigger connects to the carrier of the SPYDERCRANE at the DEPLOYMENT PIVOT
The Lower Outrigger connects to the Upper Outrigger at the OUTRIGGER KNEE
    Each VG-Outrigger is composed 2 MAJOR COMPONENTS: the UPPER OUTRIGGER and the LOWER OUTRIGGER. 
    The Upper Outrigger connects directly to the CARRIER of the SPYDERCRANE at the DEPLOYMENT PIVOT.  The Upper Outrigger also contains the hydraulic ram that extends and retracts the outrigger. The Upper Outrigger is the heaviest and strongest component of the SPYDERCRANE's outrigger.
    The Lower Outrigger connects to the Upper Outrigger at the OUTRIGGER KNEE. The Lower Outrigger also employs a telescopic system; the ANKLE EXTENSION slides out of the box of the Lower Outrigger and terminates at the OUTRIGGER FOOT, which is the outrigger component that touches the ground. 
The Lower Outrigger is a telescoping system; the ANKLE EXTENSION slides out of the Lower Outrigger and terminates with the OUTRIGGER FOOT, which is the part of the VG Outrigger that actually touches the ground

9. Articulation Points of the VG Outrigger
The Upper Outrigger slews on the Deployment Pivot, where it connects to the carrier
The Deployment Pivot is where the DEPLOYMENT ANGLE is set and where the overall DEPLOYMENT PATTERN is formed
The Lower Outrigger rotates at the Outrigger Knee and can be locked into one of three positions:
    The SPYDERCRANE's VG-Outrigger has three points of articulation. The first point of articulation is the DEPLOYMENT PIVOT. The entire VG-Outrigger SLEWS on the Deployment Pivot. 
    The Deployment Pivot is where the DEPLOYMENT ANGLE is set and where the overall DEPLOYMENT PATTERN is formed. 
    The Lower Outrigger ROTATES at the Outrigger Knee and can be locked into one of three positions: 
STORED
Not-Maximum-Extended (NOT-MAX-EXT)
Maximum-Extended (MAX-EXT)
    Finally, the Ankle Extension SLIDES out of the Lower Outrigger and can be locked into one of four, or five (depending on the outrigger). The length settings of the Ankle Extension has two purposes, the first to adjust the overall size of the deployment footprint. 
    The other reason for the multiple length settings of the Ankle Extension is to compensate for severely uneven terrain. The hydraulics of the Upper Outrigger allow you to adjust the height of the outrigger to compensate for sloped terrain, but, it can only compensate for a few degrees of slope. The Ankle Extension, on the other hand, has different length settings that can allow you to deploy when there are wide variances in the terrain, for example, if you need to deploy your SPYDERCRANE with two outriggers on a raised curb and the other two on the street.
    Depending on your specific model, your SPYDERCRANE Micro-Crawler's outriggers can be configured into as many as 68 different length and angle settings. In order to make things a little more clear, we can divide all these different settings into different categories: those that affect the SPYDERCRANE's DEPLOYMENT STATE and those that affect it's DEPLOYMENT PATTERN.  
STORED, NOT-MAX-EXT, and MAX-EXT
The ANKLE EXTENSION slides out of the Lower Outrigger and can be locked into one of four, or five (depending on the outrigger) positions, only one of which is the MAX-EXT setting

10. The Optimum Deployment Pattern
Each Deployment Pivot has up to 8 DEPLOYMENT ANGLES that the attached Outrigger could be set to
Only ONE is the OPTIMUM DEPLOYMENT ANGLE
If ALL FOUR Outriggers are locked into their Optimum Deployment Angles, the SPYDERCRANE is deployed into its OPTIMUM DEPLOYMENT PATTERN
When the SPYDERCRANE is deployed using the Optimum Deployment Pattern, the SPYDERCRANE is balanced in the center of its DEPLOYMENT FOOTPRINT
    When PRE-DEPLOYING your SPYDERCRANE's VG-Outriggers, the first thing you will need to do is set the outrigger's DEPLOYMENT ANGLE. When you set the deployment angle for all four of the outriggers, you set your SPYDERCRANE's DEPLOYMENT PATTERN.  Your SPYDERCRANE's deployment pattern establishes TWO things: 
The SHAPE of your SPYDERCRANE's deployment footprint.
WHERE you can lift (where you can safely slew your SPYDERCRANE's boom).
    While you can set any number of deployment patterns for your SPYDERCRANE, there is only ONE OPTIMUM DEPLOYMENT PATTERN. When you deploy your SPYDERCRANE using the optimum deployment pattern, your SPYDERCRANE: 
Will have a SQUARE deployment pattern.
Will be able to safely slew it's boom through its full 360° WORKING RADIUS.
    Using ANY OTHER deployment pattern will change the shape of the deployment footprint (which allows you to deploy in Limited Access/Restricted-Geometry Environments), but, will also compromise your SPYDERCRANE's stability, creating PROHIBITED ZONES. 
When deployed using the Optimum Deployment Pattern, the BOOM of the SPYDERCRANE can be safely slewed 360° during lifting operations

11. Deployment Patterns and Prohibited Zones
If ANY of the outriggers is set to a something OTHER THAN the Optimum Deployment Angle, the entire deployment is using a NON-OPTIMUM DEPLOYMENT PATTERN
Non-Optimum Deployment Patterns create PROHIBITED ZONES
A Prohibited Zone is an area within the boom’s slew arc where it MUST NOT be slewed, or the SPYDERCRANE will become critically destabilized and possibly tip-over
In this case, a SPYDERCRANE was deployed with two of its outriggers locked in parallel with the carrier’s long axis
    A PROHIBITED ZONE is anywhere within the SPYDERCRANE's WORKING RADIUS where the boom MUST NOT be slewed. Slewing the SPYDERCRANE's boom into a prohibited zone will critically destabilize the SPYDERCRANE and will lead to it tipping over.
    In the example shown here, the SPYDERCRANE has been deployed with Outriggers #1 and #2 set so they are parallel with the SPYDERCRANE's center-line. This changes the shape of the SPYDERCRANE's deployment footprint and allows it to be deployed against an immovable obstacle, like a wall. This is known as a NON-OPTIMUM DEPLOYMENT PATTERN. While this allows the SPYDERCRANE to be deployed in areas otherwise too small for an optimum deployment pattern, it also creates a prohibited zone in-between Outriggers #1 and #2. This prohibited zone cuts the SPYDERCRANE's working radius in half. 
    The bottom line is that while using a non-optimum deployment pattern allows you to deploy your SPYDERCRANE in Limited Access/Restricted-Geometry Environments, it limits WHERE YOU CAN LIFT.
The Deployment Footprint has been cut nearly in half and the operator can deploy the SPYDERCRANE right up against a wall
But, if he slews the boom into the Prohibited Zone between Outrigger #1 and #2 (the red zone) the SPYDERCRANE WILL tip-over

12. Deployment States (URW295)
DEPLOYMENT STATES are affected by the positions of the Outrigger Knee AND Ankle Extension
If both are locked to MAX-EXT (maximum-extended), then the Outrigger is set to MAX-EXT
If all four Outriggers are MAX-EXT, the Deployment State is MAX-EXT
    Your SPYDERCRANE's DEPLOYMENT STATE is determined by how you have configured the SPYDERCRANE's Outrigger Knee and Ankle Extension. You already know that the Outrigger Knee can be set to one of two different operational settings: MAX-EXT and NOT-MAX-EXT. 
    The Ankle Extension, on the other hand, has multiple length settings (4 or 5); this allows you to adjust the horizontal and vertical position of the Outrigger Foot to compensate for uneven terrain (if, for instance, you needed to deploy two outriggers on a raised curb on the other two in the street). Despite this, there are still only TWO operational settings for the Ankle Extension: MAX-EXT and NOT-MAX-EXT. If the Ankle Extension is pulled out to its maximum length, it is at its MAX-EXT setting; if it is set to ANYTHING LESS than it's maximum length, it is set to NOT-MAX-EXT.
    All of this means that your SPYDERCRANE can be set to one of TWO Deployment States: MAX-EXT and NOT-MAX-EXT. If you set ALL FOUR Outrigger Knees AND Ankle Extensions to their MAX-EXT setting then the SPYDERCRANE's Deployment State is MAX-EXT. If ANY Outrigger Knee OR Ankle Extension is set to ANYTHING OTHER THAN it's MAX-EXT setting, the entire Deployment State devolves to NOT-MAX-EXT.
    Deploying your SPYDERCRANE using a NOT-MAX-EXT Deployment State reduces the size of the deployment footprint, but it also SEVERELY reduces your SPYDERCRANE's RATED LOAD CAPACITY.
If ANY Knee or Ankle Extension is set to NOT- MAX-EXT, the Deployment State becomes NOT-MAX- EXT

13. Deployment States and Rated Load Capacities
Using the NOT-MAX-EXT Deployment State greatly reduces the SIZE of the Deployment Footprint
BUT, it also incurs a LIFTING PENALTY
Using the NOT-MAX-EXT Deployment State reduces the RATED LOAD CAPACITY of the SPYDERCRANE by as much as 65%
    When deployed using the MAX-EXT Deployment State, your SPYDERCRANE can lift up to it maximum Rated Load Capacity. Using a NOT-MAX-EXT Deployment State reduces this Rated Load Capacity by up to 65%. The reason for this is stability. 
    Your SPYDERCRANE's lifting capacity is based on stability, the greatest danger in lifting weights beyond the SPYDERCRANE's maximum Rated Load Capacity is that it will tip over. In other words, your SPYDERCRANE CANNOT lift so much that it can damage its structure without tipping over first. When you use the MAX-EXT Deployment State, you are making the SPYDERCRANE as stable as possible. 
    When you deploy using a NOT-MAX-EXT Deployment State, you are moving the four contact points of the outriggers closer to the SPYDERCRANE's center-of-gravity. Just as you are less stable when you stand with your heels together, as opposed to having your feet shoulder-width apart, your SPYDERCRANE's stability is reduced when you move its outriggers closer together.
We will cover MAX-EXT and NOT-MAX Deployment States in more detail in the Lifting Lesson