Modular Steel Lifting Frame Assembly Without On-Site Welding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing lifting equipment structures, particularly for exterior installations, face issues with complex and costly manufacturing processes due to welding requirements, which compromise precision, stability, and safety, and are limited by the skills of welders, while precast constructions lack sufficient stability and are unsuitable for exterior use.
Innovation Solution
A self-supporting steel structure composed of vertically interconnected pillars and beams using mirror-inverted angular and L-joints from bent metal sheets, connected via standardized screws, eliminating welding and allowing batch production of unified components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If standard self-supporting welded structures are used, then high load-bearing capacity and design simplicity are achieved, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to dependence on welder skills and on-site welding quality cannot be easily inspected
Solution Approach 1:
The structure is divided into separate components (pillars, beams, connecting components) that are manufactured independently in controlled workshop environments and then assembled on-site using mechanical connections. This segmentation allows each component to be manufactured with high precision in a controlled setting rather than relying on on-site welding quality.
Solution Approach 2:
Welding operations are replaced with mechanical connecting components (screws, nuts, connecting plates) that allow for precise assembly without thermal processes. The mechanical connection system provides controllable, inspectable, and reversible connections while maintaining structural integrity.
2Strength
If welded structures are used, then high load-bearing capacity is achieved, but safety deteriorates due to fire risk from hot material spatter during welding operations
Solution Approach 1:
Thermal welding processes are completely replaced with mechanical fastening systems using screws, nuts, and connecting components. This substitution eliminates hot material spatter and fire hazards associated with welding while maintaining the required load-bearing capacity through properly designed mechanical connections.
3Strength
If welded structures are used, then high load-bearing capacity is achieved, but manufacturing time deteriorates due to prolonged on-site welding and grinding operations
Solution Approach 1:
All components are pre-manufactured in workshops with precise machining and preparation of connection surfaces before delivery to the construction site. This preliminary action eliminates time-consuming on-site welding, grinding, and painting operations, allowing for rapid assembly of the complete structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The structure is segmented into factory-premanufactured components that can be independently produced and then quickly assembled on-site using simple mechanical connections, dramatically reducing the time required for on-site construction compared to traditional welded structures.
4Ease of manufacture
If pre-manufactured structures with on-site installation are used, then welding operations on site are eliminated, but stability deteriorates because bent metal sheet sections cannot attain the stability of welded structures
Solution Approach 1:
The structure combines bent metal sheet components with additional reinforcement elements and rigid connecting components to create a composite assembly that achieves the stability of welded structures while maintaining the manufacturing advantages of pre-fabricated components.
Solution Approach 2:
Angular connecting components with bent geometries are used to create rigid joints between pillars and beams. The curved and angular shapes of these connecting components provide mechanical interlocking and rigid connection that compensates for the inherent flexibility of bent metal sheet sections.
5Ease of manufacture
If pre-manufactured structures with bent metal sheets are used, then on-site welding is eliminated, but load-bearing capacity deteriorates making them unsuitable for higher lifting operations
Solution Approach 1:
The structure is segmented into main load-bearing components (pillars and beams) and connecting components, allowing the main components to be optimized for load-bearing capacity while connecting components provide rigid joints. This segmentation enables high load-bearing capacity to be achieved through proper component design rather than relying solely on welding.
Solution Approach 2:
Angular and curved connecting components are designed to efficiently transfer loads between structural members. The geometric shape of these connectors provides mechanical advantage and rigid connection that enables the pre-manufactured structure to achieve high load-bearing capacity suitable for heavy lifting operations.
Data Source
AI summary
A component composed steel structure for lifting equipment that consists of the elevating system composed of vertical pillars that are horizontally interconnected with crossbeams, where the back pillars (2) are through sets of identical mirror-inverted angular joints (16) and sets of identical mirror-inverted L-joints (17) connected to side crossbeams (3) and back crossbeams (4) via threaded joints (18), while frontal pillars (1) are through bent L-joints (22) and bent space joints (23) connected to side crossbeams (3), via threaded joints (18), and through small bent L-joints (15) of frontal profiles connected to frontal crossbeams (5) via threaded joints (18), and through flat L-joints (26) connected to gantry profiles (24) via threaded joints (18), wherein the vertical components of frontal and back pillars (1,2) are interconnected using columnar joints (20).