In February 2022, Mechanika successfully delivered a challenging project in the waste water industry, for an array of large mobile waste water distributor machines.
The Problem:
The client had seen repeated premature bearing and axle failure across a range of 30 waste water distributor machine chassis. The down time and associated costs were significant. Previous consultancies had been unable to successfully diagnose and rectify the problem which had been ongoing for over a year. Mechanika were approached due to their expert stress analysis and design services, as well as their proven track record for implementing several successful chassis and drive train arrangements for a number high profile clients
Mechanika were commissioned by the client to fault find, analyse and deliver a design optimisation to guarantee adequate fatigue life.
The Solution:
Mechanika attended a site visit, where they witnessed the machines in operation and investigated the drive mechanisms and load paths through the structure. Mechanika identified the problem on site, which was related to the drive axle degrees of freedom and mounting arrangement.
A hand calculation report was compiled with supporting FEA, to demonstrate the cause of the current chassis and drive failure. Mechanika then repeated the analysis with their optimised design, to show structural conformance and adequate fatigue life for all load cases.
The concept design was schemed by Mechanika and implemented by the client.
The Result:
The design modifications were carried out on two test machines, which demonstrated that the structure had been rectified and that the premature failures had been eliminated. The design change has now been implemented on all of the 30 machines and there have been no failures of any equipment in service.
