J D Neuhaus Hoists Help Construct Las Vegas Observation Wheel | Equipment Application

JD Neuhaus provided three 55-ton air operated hoists to assist in the construction of the world's largest observation wheel located at The Ling–Caesars Entertainment's outdoor retail, dining, and entertainment district on the Las Vegas strip. The structure known as the Las Vegas High Roller, tops out at 550 ft., has 28 viewing cabins, and a total passenger capacity of 1,120.

The air operated hoists were located at a temporary chain fall platform suspended below the wheel central hub, and utilized their 280 ft of cable fall to lift equipment from the ground level. These lifts included 18 temporary radial struts, each being 40 tons in weight, together with transfer trusses of similar weights and all the individual outer rim segments of the completed wheel, together with a total of 112 cable-locking assemblies initially assembled at 50% tension loads. The temporary radial struts were installed to provide the accurate spacing of the individual wheel rim segments from the central hub unit during initial build assembly. These were then sequentially replaced by the cable locking assemblies, which when fully tensioned provided the radial spokes of the completed wheel assembly.

The JDN hoists were from the Profi TI range and operate from a six-bar compressed air supply, with a total of 19 separate models that have lift capacities from 0.28 tons up to 110 tons. They incorporate a patented vane motor-brake system for low-maintenance operation with little wear.

One hundred percent duty ratings with unlimited duty cycles are provided, with insensitivity to outdoor operations involving dust, humidity, and temperatures ranging from -20°C to +70°C. Although a normal lift height of 10 ft. is available with standard models, special lift requirements such as the 280 ft. specified for the Las Vegas Observation Wheel was no problem. The lifting and lowering speeds of the hoists, even under full load capacities, are coupled to sensitive, infinitely variable speed controls for the precise positioning of loads.

The wheel structure incorporates 3.5 million lbs. of steel, with the 112 cables forming the tensioned spokes of the structure, with a combined total length of 25,256 ft., and each cable with a breaking force of 550 tons. The individual viewing cabins incorporate dynamic video and music and feature 300 ft² of glass. It takes approximately 30 minutes for each revolution of the wheel structure, traveling at 1 fps.