Material handling equipment for bulk and construction use
A manufacturer selling material handling systems worldwide wanted to move more material, with less dust and damage, from a product line that could grow.
- Industry
- Construction and bulk materials
- Work
- Concept, detail design, FEA and DEM, drawing packages
- Stages
- 02 Concept, 03 Detail & Simulation, 04 Engineering Pack
The brief
Moving bulk and construction materials around a live site is slow, dusty and hard on the materials. The equipment has to work with site cranes, meet strict health and safety requirements and, for some materials, suit ATEX zones.
The client sells these systems worldwide, so every improvement had to carry across a range of sizes and sites.
What we did
We took the client’s initial ideas into detailed parametric CAD models that could be iterated and prototyped. The design includes sealed vertical chutes and modular containment that keep dust in and protect the material, and mobile, crane-compatible rolling platforms with structural reinforcement, safety features and load-handling geometry.
High-power inverter drives with remote control suit regulated construction sites, and health and safety requirements were designed in from the start. FEA covered the structures under multiple load cases, and discrete element modelling (DEM) showed how the bulk material flows. Full drawing packages and a bill of materials went to fabrication.
Results
- Over 50% more material handling throughput in high-rise construction
- A dust-free, damage-free chute system
- A product line that scales across sizes
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