guidelines for the design of industrial lift/elevator

[MonsieurR2]

Hello everyone,

I'm designing a small industrial elevator for a textile shop. Capacity is 1.5 ton and the building is 4 stories. Around the lift there are stairs and the idea is to make the lift independent of the building, but maybe support it horizontally at each story. See attachment 1 for elevation. So far what I have is 4 square HSS columns (100 mm x 100 mm x 4 mm) with horizontal ties at each story (HSS beams, 100 mm x 100 mm x 4, OR 50 mm x 50 mm x 4 mm). I need to use this as my support for the elevator.

The elevator itself consist of a cage made from 50x50x4 mm HSS members (see attachment2) with a big upper beam (undetermined yet) which is pulled up from the top by a cable and a motor. The pendular movement of the cage is avoided by wheels that go to the initial HSS 100x100x4 columns (see attachment3).

Center to center distance between HSS 100x100x4 is around 1800 mm on one side and 1700 mm on the other.

My points are:

1. So far I have designed this by strength requirements, and the cage and columns seem OK (stresses below 100 MPa, design ratios below 0.5) but looks a bit weak just by the eye, compared to what I think it should look like. Since I have approached only informally things like impact, fatigue and dynamic considerations (I just used a higher safety factor and did not exactly quantified those things), I would appreciate guidelines on this topic, or any thing you can contribute to the discussion.

2. Is there any standard for the design of such things? I still don't know how I'm going to place the motor, the speed of lifting and all that. Maybe this is not strictly structural but I don't loose anything by asking. Google has not been of any help so far.

Thank you for your time.

 

[dik]

Are you designing the cage and cable/motor system yourself? How are you controlling it? stopping at each level? Correcting for misalignment? How do you apply emergency braking? or, is this a commercial package? You may have some restrictions on your elevator pit. Minimum depth, lighting, and ladder?

Dik

 

[MonsieurR2]

The cage yes, the cable/motor system no, another guy is on it (we are both on it). Cage needs to be 1.5 m x 1.5 m x 2.2 m, no other requirements.

I'm basically looking for references on their design (mechanical design as well since it will have some impact on the structure), and also some more formal ways to tackle dynamic and fatigue considerations.

 

[dik]

There may be a whole bunch of standards that are applicable. Best check...

Dik

 

[dhengr]

Mapostu:
There are a number of companies which have spent years developing and perfecting this type of equipment, such as it is. They know the loads, the mechanicals, electrical and control needs, so why would you try to re-invent the wheel? I suspect there is much more involved than first meets the eye. There will also be industry standards, building code requirements, safety and national or local regulations on the design and operation of any type of elevator, which must be followed. You may be much better off buying this type of equipment from an experienced, and reputable manufacturer.

 

[dik]

dhengr:

Yup... tried to outline some of the 'hiccups'... don't know even where to start when it comes to standards...

Dik

 

[FLCraneBuilder]

A minor correction to Dhengr response... You WILL be much better off buying a pre-engineered unit from the companines that make them for a living... If you cant find one that suites your exact needs, perhaps alter a standard unit a bit...
I can see no benefit form someone engineering from scratch.... its likely a disaster looking for a place to happen
They are available from many of the mezzanine manufactures

 

[MonsieurR2]

I think that, rather than an elevator, what i'm designing is a static 3 kip hoist crane, such that the cargo below goes through some columns that help for the lateral stability of the cargo (a cage) using wheels and rails on them, that restrict the cargo to wobble around. The hoist comes with the controls and they will possibly need some adaptation/extensions to manipulate them better, but nothing particularly difficult.

Pre-engineered units wont work because the geometry is given and cranes are not typically this way (static) so I can't adapt them.

I'm pretty sure that there's more involved than first meets the eye but this is a not a permanent unit so I was hoping to tackle the main issues I thought were important, hopefully via prescriptive guidelines or standards you knew. I already have AISE 13 but I feel it's not the most appropriate because of the previous reasons (crane is not movable and is long)

For your concern, we will hire someone to validate this, yet we want to tackle the conceptual engineering so that the consultant does minor work (that's what we aim for at least).

 

[dik]

Just a caution... as a lifting device, you may have some standards that come into play... I don't know, I don't work in that area... just check it out.

Dik

 

[MikeHalloran]

The cage is large enough to use as a personnel elevator, therefore, someday, someone will use it that way.
... and when they get hurt, you will get some phone calls, and perhaps worse.
Do you have insurance for that?



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[MotorCity]

This is one of those things that, if you don't design them on a regular basis, you don't know what you don't know. For example, you may not be familiar with all of the obscure codes, regulations, etc. that are required of such a design. In my experience, elevator and hoist companies can be pretty accommodating when it comes to dealing with tight spaces, unique geometry etc. Even if you decide to design it yourself, it would still be prudent to consult a lift or hoist manufacturer just to compare their design to yours and see if you're in the ballpark.