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Glossary entry

German term or phrase:

Metertonne

English translation:

metre tonne

Added to glossary by Rowan Morrell
Mar 14, 2015 10:32
9 yrs ago
2 viewers *
German term

Metertonne

German to English Tech/Engineering Metrology Swap Body Vehicle
"Ein allradbetriebenes Wechselladefahrzeug mit Kran, kurz WLFA-K. Das neue Fahrzeug verfügt über einen leistungsstarken 26 mt (Metertonnen) Fahrzeugkran mit einer Kranseilwinde."

From a text about a swap body vehicle. I thought Metertonnen would just be metric tonnes, but according to the German Wikipedia, "Metertonnen" and "metrische Tonnen" are NOT the same. The English Wikipedia throws utterly bewildering terms at me like "short ton", "long ton", "imperial ton" and yes, "metric ton" Or tonne, as the case may be. Maddeningly, no dictionary seems to have heard of "Metertonnen", so I'm in a state of complete and utter confusion over this word and have no idea at all what the proper translation of it should be in English. TIA for any light you can shed on this conundrum.
Proposed translations (English)
5 +3 meter (times) tonne or 7260 foot pound
3 metric tonne
4 -2 metric tonne
References
take your pick from the context

Discussion

Wendy Streitparth Mar 15, 2015:
Just like to point out that Fassi is in fact an Italian company which may or may
not affect their choice of vocabulary.
Hans-Jochen Trost Mar 15, 2015:
@Rowan The unit "tonne metre" looks preferable to me, it uses the usual order of contributing units for a load moment; in this respect the German unit "Metertonne" is deviating, although it seems to have its firm place and use in characterizing cranes. The example of Fassi (UK) that I gave in my previous discussion entry supports the usual order in relation to cranes, so using it should not cause any problems.
Rowan Morrell (asker) Mar 14, 2015:
Or maybe "tonne-metres" is the way to go?
Rowan Morrell (asker) Mar 14, 2015:
I want to stick with metric; this is not into US English, so I don't need Imperial measurements on this occasion (interesting enough info though). So just literally "meter tonne", then? Google hits are not overwhelming for that, but if that's what they use for cranes ...
Wendy Streitparth Mar 14, 2015:
I see no point in this discussion as I also have links to substantiate my proposal.
Hans-Jochen Trost Mar 14, 2015:
@Wendy The context identifies a crane mounted on a truck, essentially for loading/unloading. That could, e.g., serve to move containers between rail cars and the truck; the reach and the corresponding pull of the weight on a long lever arm are thus of importance in characterizing the crane. Here is a British outfit using the same load specification "tonne metre":
http://www.fassiuk.com/products.html
The changed order of the component units (length, weight) is of no consequence.

Proposed translations

+3
4 hrs
Selected

meter (times) tonne or 7260 foot pound

This is a load specification for cranes, combining the lifted weight with the horizontal distance from the support point (where the crane stands) to the load. In English, either the same unit is used (http://everything2.com/title/load moment), or - in particular in the US - the foot pound. The 26 mt thus would translate into about 188,000 ft lb. The name for this quantity is "Lastmoment" in German and "load moment" in English, or "moment rating" when the maximum load moment approved for a crane is discussed.
Reference:

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metertonne

http://www.liftmoore.com/faq-whichcrane.htm

Peer comment(s):
agree David Knowles : Ah - the mystery is solved!
27 mins
Thanks!
agree Steffen Walter
40 mins
Thanks!
agree rainerc (X)
2 hrs
Thanks!
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "In the end, I decided to go with "metre tonne", as there seemed to be a number of good hits for that in a crane context. As the German Wikipedia said, it's clearly a separate unit of measurement from the metrIC tonne. Anyway, many thanks for your assistance."
38 mins

metric tonne

Safe working capacity 2.5 metric tonne.
http://www.ag-cranes.co.uk/used.htm

Bence have a range of vehicles at their disposal to supplement our client’s own fleets. These include 7.5 tonne trucks, 4×2 and 6×2 tractor units and a 24.5 metric tonne mobile crane.
http://whbence.co.uk/what-we-do/servicing/
Peer comment(s):
agree Ines R.
35 mins
Danke schön, Ines
agree Ramey Rieger (X) : First come, first serve. Hope your'e well, Wendy!
2 hrs
Thanks, Ramey. Indeed - recovering from a week's yoga behind convent walls!
disagree Hans-Jochen Trost : This unit is the product of the length of the lever arm and the lifted weight.
3 hrs
This may well apply for the US. Depends on what the asker requires.
disagree rainerc (X) : With Hans-Jochen
6 hrs
Something went wrong...
-2
43 mins

metric tonne

Don't worry about it! It's like saying that weight and mass are different. Yes they are, but for most purposes they are equivalent. Since you are translating from German, it's bound to be 1000kg, so you can forget about short tons and the like.
Peer comment(s):
disagree Hans-Jochen Trost : This unit is the product of the length of the lever arm and the lifted weight.
3 hrs
disagree rainerc (X) : With Hans-Jochen
6 hrs
Something went wrong...

Reference comments

11 mins
Reference:

take your pick from the context

Meter-tonne-second system


meter–tonne–second system

(Abbreviated mts system.) A system of physical units based upon the use of the meter, the metric ton (or tonne: 106 grams), and the second as elementary quantities of length, mass, and time, respectively.

In this system, density is expressed in tonne m-3, velocity or speed in m s-1, force in tonne m-2 (or sthene), pressure in centibars (or pieze), and energy in kilojoules. The mts system is used primarily by European engineers.
Meter-tonne-second system - AMS Glossary
glossary.ametsoc.org/.../Meter-tonne-seco...
Mobile-friendly - Feb 20, 2012 - meter–tonne–second system. (Abbreviated mts system.) A system of physical units based upon the ...
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