The group Presentation

Here is the presentation slide containing the information used for the presentation session on Wednesday.



Just want to congratulate the Team on a brillant perfomance and hope that it will be a success.

Our final Crane model

After a long period of designing and re-designing we finally finished with out crane model. below is a picture of of the final module.

Benefits of our crane

Innovate high-performance
applications with versatile Optim
• Achieve higher payloads for lifting and transportation applications.
Ruukki is the only supplier of very thin ultra high-strength steels
from 2.5 mm.
• Create more innovative applications with laser-welded thin, wide
sheets and a broad selection of high-strength sections and tubes.
Create good-looking end-products
with Optim, which has great workshop
capabilities
• Enjoy painless forming of Optim thanks to its minimal yield strength
variation and high thickness accuracy.
• Benefit from easy welding thanks to low alloying of Optim. Increase
welding speed with thinner gauges to save time and money.
• Benefit from excellent surface quality and flatness with our unique
production processes
- direct quenching
- powerful levelling capabilities both for heavy plate and
cut-to-length lines

The Pulley

Pulleys are a better way to lift large masses onto tall heights and are examples of simple machines.

The types of pulleys that had been researched included:

- Fixed pulleys:

- Movable Pulleys

- Compound Pulleys

- Block and tackle

For the project we decided to use the the fixed pulley system. This is a fixed or class 1 pulley with a fixed axle. That is, the axle is "fixed" or anchored in place. A fixed pulley is used to change the direction of the force on a rope (called a belt). A fixed pulley has a mechanical advantage of 1. A mechanical advantage of one means that the force is equal on both sides of the pulley and there is no multiplication of force




NOTE that
The number of pulleys used in a system may increase or decrease the mechanical advantage of the system. Generally, the higher the mechanical advantage is, the easier it is to lift the object.
This means no matter how easy it is to use the pulley system, the system itself is not very efficient due to the force of friction. For example, one has to pull two meters of rope of cable through the pulleys in order to lift an object one meter.

Design assembly ( preliminary stage)

This is the first stage of the assembly of the our final design. The beams are mounted onto the rotating base. This base will contain ball bearings which whill allow the posibility for easy rotation when needed.

Outtriggers for Support

These are the structures that offer support to the crane structure on rough ground.
the holes help in changing levels to match an appropriate height.

The winch system to implement.

For the project we will be using two winches to operate the crane. The purpose of the first will be to lift the object to be moved from the ground to a suitable height above the ground. The second winch will be aimed at lifting the top H-beam to provide more height during lifting to avoid any obstacles.

Research into the different types of winches was made and it was noted thst there were three main parts to a winch. They are the spool and other parts related to holding the rope, strap or cable; the crank, power source, and gears; and the ratchet. These parts can be mixed relatively independently though some combinations are better than others.

So after careful analysis we decided use the Fulton 3,200lb Two Speed Cable Winch w/ Hand Brake - HP Series. This winch would be used for lifting the H-beam. its features include:

Product Length: 12.0 inches
Product Width: 9.0 inches
Product Height: 8.0 inches
Product Weight: 18.3 pounds
Package Length: 12.0 inches
Package Width: 9.0 inches
Package Height: 8.0 inches
Package Weight: 17.3 pounds

Description
3,200 lbs. Single Speed Capacity: 3,200 lbs. Gear Ratio: 5.1:1 and 12.2:1 Handle Length: 10






The second winch which we found was the T12 hand winch/manual winch. This is a winch which was designed to be used with cranes. product descriptions include:

Aplication: Cranes
Capacity: 1200kg
Power Source: Hand
Surface: Zinc

Metal Bars for support

These are placed at the top of the main beam structure to hold the main beam and rotating beams together.

Beam used in Lifting ( top)

This is the rotating beam situated at the top. With the help of the supporting bar, the winge system at the back and the eye bolt, the beam can move up and down to meet target objects before lifting and after lifting.

Note that in the final assembly, it is used as an H-beam. this was to ensure that the beam could be properly mounted onto the main crane supporting structure.

The main Beam structure.

This is the main structure which controls the weight og the object being lifted. Two winge systems will be install ; one at the back of the beam and the other to the side. The winge sytem to the back of the beam will help the top beam to be hoisted up and down such that it reached its target object before carrying out any lifting action. The winge sytem to the side will will be use to alternate the cord lengths.

To the side are aslo metal bars. these are positioned such that they can aid in the rotation of the whole crane system and eventually move object from one position to the another.

Rotating base (part 2)

combines with the second rotating part for rotation.

Rotating base

This is another part of the base. It sits in the hole on the base to help ease the rotation. this part will be connected to another support to provide more stability. the rectangle intrusion at the top will be for mounting the top half of the crane i.e the beams and its upporting structure.

Finall Design in CAD Format

This is the base of the crane. There are holes on each side of the base and these are holes where the outriggers will be connected to help keep some stability to the system. There are six otf there. At the top, the intrusion provides room for the crane to rotate so the heavy load can be moved from one position to the other.

Final Concept Sketchs

Looking at picture 1.
this was the rough sketch of the final design stipulating what sort of components to use and where to use them.




Picture 2
shows the side of the concept crane design ( upper half). this bit conatains, an eye bolt to help support the steel cords which will be used for pulling heavy objects.



Also below are sketches of the side views for the top beam indicating how the the cord will be passing through.



Picture 3
this indicates the meta bars that will be used when the crane is in operation, to help move the crane around after objects have been lifted.
The base of the crane also shown without the outriggers.

Note:
Sketches produced by the Arnold ( Chief Designer)

Crane Research and Possible attributes to adopt for the Model

What are Cranes?
A crane is a lifting machine, generally equipped with a winder (also called a wire rope drum), wire ropes or chains and sheaves that can be used both to lift and lower materials and to move them horizontally. It uses one or more simple machines to create mechanical advantage and thus move loads beyond the normal capability of a human (in this case more than 1000kg).

So to get ideas of what sort of an ideal crane to model we will look at different types of mobility cranes.

 Truck-mounted cranes: these are cranes mounted on trucks. This eliminates special needs for the crane to be transported by special equipment. Can lift loads ranging from 14.5 tonnes to 1300 tonnes.
 Side lift cranes: A side lifter crane is a road-going truck or semi-trailer, able to hoist and transport ISO standard containers. Container lift is done with parallel crane-like hoists, which can lift a container from the ground or from a railway vehicle.
 Rough terrain cranes: A crane mounted on an undercarriage with four rubber tires that is designed for pick-and-carry operations and for off-road and "rough terrain" applications. Outriggers are used to level and stabilize the crane for hoisting. Load range is normally about 70 tonnes.
 All terrain cranes: A mobile crane with the necessary equipment to travel at speed on public roads, and on rough terrain at the job site using all-wheel and crab steering. This is a classic model combination of good manoeuvrability along rough grounds and good mobility on roads.
 Crawler cranes: A crawler is a crane mounted on an undercarriage with a set of tracks (also called crawlers) that provide stability and mobility. Crawler cranes range in lifting capacity from about 40 tonnes to 3500 tonnes. However, because of the crawlers and crane, the machinery is very heavy and this comes as a disadvantage due to its limitation in movement and would have to be disassembled if in need of working at other job sites.

After looking at all these different types of cranes, we can say that we can take the best attributes from all these and model a smaller and portable crane capable of delivering to the recommended specifications.

Good attributes from all these cranes will include:

• The ability to move around on site and perform each lift with little set-up, since the crane is stable on its tracks with no outriggers. In addition, a crawler crane is capable of travelling with a load (crawler cranes).
• Able to travel on main roads and highways. This additional flexibility makes it possible to transport large loads and access a wide range of locations (All terrain cranes)
• Quick and easy mobility on roads and not slowed down cranes mounted on the trucks (Truck- mounted cranes and side lift cranes).
• Have outriggers which help provide stability when lift or hoisting loads (side lift cranes).
• Spotters are used to ensure that the load to be lifted is properly installed.

More concept Design

Initial concept Design