Structural Design

Overhead Crane Design for Heavy-Duty Industrial Use

The client is a privately owned U.S. company that has established itself as a prominent figure in specialized material handling across the country. Their primary focus lies in providing specialized lifting machinery, like tower cranes, gantry cranes, and hoists, used across industries like infrastructure and manufacturing.

Scope

The client approached us to design an overhead crane system used for handling heavy materials. The scope of the project included:

  • Custom Overhead Crane Design: Designing a heavy-duty overhead crane capable of lifting 2-20 tons, with a radial span of 64ft and a maximum lifting height of 20ft.
  • Meeting US Safety Standards: Analyzing if the design complies with ANSI/ASTM safety standards, and making necessary modifications, accordingly, considering load factors, safety calculations, and manufacturing processes.
  • Structural and Mechanical Engineering Support: Providing design support for lifting attachments, walkways, platforms, and other access equipment to ensure smooth functionality and safety.

Challenge

The key challenges in designing a heavy-duty overhead crane included:

  • Modular Design: The client needed the crane to have interchangeable components that could be easily replaced or upgraded as required.
  • Structural Load Considerations: The crane design needed to handle varying loads (2-20 tons) while ensuring stability, precision and flexibility for different operational needs. This required careful calculations of structural strength, material selection, and load distribution.
  • Integration with Existing Infrastructure: The crane had to seamlessly integrate with the existing plant layout and overhead rail systems. The design must be customized to the available space, accounting for length, height, and lateral travel to minimize operational disruption.
  • Safety Requirements: Given the scale and weight of the materials, safety was a priority. The design must include safety features to protect operators and the crane system from failure.
3D rendering of overhead crane design

Solution

Sedin's highly experienced engineers provide comprehensive support to the client at various stages. Addressing the challenges posed by heavy structural designs for overhead cranes and other complexities, our design solutions assist the client in completing and installing their products on time, presenting improved versions.

We categorized our solution in four phases:

1. Load Calculations

Before we began the design process, we assessed the operational requirements. This included evaluating static, dynamic and impact forces. We calculated dead load, live load, and also dynamic loads caused by motion, like acceleration, deceleration, and sudden stops. Horizontal lateral loads from trolley and bridge movement were also evaluated to maintain stability.

Bending moments and deflection were considered in the design to prevent excessive bending and maintain stability under load. A safety factor of 1.5 was applied to ensure the crane could handle unexpected stresses and operate efficiently. Every calculation was carefully reviewed to confirm the design can safely handle the expected loads.

2. Detailed Design

In this phase, we designed a 3D CAD model of the overhead crane using SolidWorks. It featured a 64-ft span and a 20-ft maximum lifting height, as per client’s requirements. Based on load calculations, we chose A572 Grade 50 (355 MPa Yield Strength) low-alloy structural steel for its strength and reliability.

The key components of our overhead crane design included:

  • Girder Bridge: The main structure was designed to support the crane’s load capacity while minimizing deflection. Its design ensured stability during lifting and movement, even under maximum load conditions.
  • Trolley and Hoist: The trolley was designed for smooth travel along the bridge, supporting a hoist powered by a dual-speed motor for precise lifting and lowering. The hoist system also included a pick-and-place assembly to ensure accurate load positioning.
  • Wheels and Tracks: We incorporated durable wheels with anti-friction bearings and precisely aligned tracks to ensure smooth movement and even load distribution.
  • Drive Systems: High-performance motors paired with variable frequency drives (VFDs) were integrated to ensure smooth acceleration or deceleration and minimize mechanical stress.
  • Safety and Maintenance Access: Safety features, including overload protection, emergency stops, safety latches, brake system and an anti-sway system were integrated into the design. Walkways, ladders and platforms were added to allow easy access for maintenance and inspections of critical components.

3. Design Simulation and Validation

Several design simulations were conducted using SolidWorks to test the crane’s performance, focusing on key components like the girder bridge, trolley, hoist, wheels, and tracks. These simulations helped ensure the crane could handle the expected loads and operational conditions.

After the simulation, the design was validated to ensure compliance with relevant ANSI and ASTM standards for safety and structural integrity. We also made sure the design was customized to fit the available space, align with existing rail systems, and meet the required span, height, and lateral travel dimensions.

4. Final Review and Transfer

Once validated, the design underwent a final review. Assemblies and weldments were checked using DFMA techniques, while DFMEA ensured the reliability of the assembly structure. We also reviewed safety features on walkways and platforms to ensure compliance with OSHA standards.

The final design was confirmed with precise dimensioning, GD&T, flawless weldments, and a comprehensive quality checklist. We transferred the final design to the client, along with the deliverables, which included detailed 2D and 3D models in the required formats, a detailed Bill of Materials (BOM), and specifications for welding, nuts, bolts, and other critical components.

Our value-driven approach and expert structural design services ensured that the client received the deliverables on time, fully meeting their requirements with exceptional precision. This not only guaranteed the highest quality but also provided long-term value and reliable performance.

Overhead Crane 3D Modeling

Value and Benefits

Our structural design expertise in cranes enabled the client to receive high-quality CAD models on time, with optimal efficiency and precision.

The modular design approach we applied offered flexibility, making it easy to scale and adapt the solution for future projects, ensuring cost savings and long-term value.

We focused on cost-effective solutions by designing a pick-and-place system that optimizes crane performance and improves operational efficiency in load handling.

Built for reliability, the crane system is made with durable materials, ensuring long-term performance and minimal maintenance for years to come.

The overhead crane design included fail-safe features like brake system, overload protection, and emergency stop functions. These ensure worker safety and equipment protection, effectively reducing operational risks and ensuring full compliance with industry safety standards.

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Sedin Engineering is the division of Sedin Technologies. We offer multidisciplinary and holistic engineering design services across product development, plant design & engineering, industrial automation, structural, civil, electrical, wiring and harness design. Our agenda is to enable engineering brilliance.

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