Motion analysis
A container transfer crane displayed undesirable behaviour, with the suspended container making an oscillating rotary motion.
Idea were asked to come up with a solution, but to do that they first had to identify the cause. Van Oort and his colleagues made computer models of the crane and the container, and also scale models using Fischertechnik. Van Oort carried out the dynamics calculations in MSC.Adams, a multi-body package. "You could see the aberrant behaviour in both the computer model and the scale model."
The conclusion was as follows: a gust of wind or an irregularity in the rails can initiate an oscillating motion, but it is the position of the lifting cable sheaves that determines whether this will develop into a rotary oscillation. "When we changed the relative positions of two sheaves, the bad behaviour virtually disappeared." The result was a minute saved on each loading operation.
Idea have carried out other simulations in MSC.Adams, looking for example at the braking behaviour of new cranes. This saves on the intensive work of making test models. "MSC.Adams allows you to simulate all the forces in a system in real time, so you know with precision what are the maximum forces created. This allows you to design better components."