Trnasfer car moves on rail. The wheels used for the purpose have some capacity. Please check if this capacity is being exceeded by the new equipment. If it is, you may have to increase dia. of wheels to retain the existing configuration.

A structural engineer wil be able to get the structure checked for new loads.

We have done this kind of work for trolleys used in shipyards for hauling up vessels. ■

Madhu, what Vinayak has said is set in stone; the problem is we do not know what type of machines you have and what your prime mover consists of.

Over here in the united states we have what is called a schnabel car for moving heaving loads on rail-typically done with electrical transformers used for regulating high voltage from generating stations.

In the above case the exterior case of the transformer is designed to mate with the ends of the "schnabel car" to become one solid unit using the built in strength of the transformers weldment and box structure mated to the end pieces of the schnnabel car which have a large number of railroad axles in relation to the schnabel car itself-up to thirty or more etc.

And these cars are used for moving weldments(vessels/I beams) mobile equipment) from point a to b , these cars have been in use for several generations.

1. When you refer to the existing motor-is it an electric traction motor driving only one axle or is is a diesel engine powering a direct drive chain drive to the axle such as is used in some older diesel locomotives?

2. The transfer car should have been designed with a larger safety factor for weight built into the weldments and assembly structure(box welded type of construction) and welded gussets to strengthen the edges of the floor of car(if it is flat)with side extensions.

Wheel loads are another factor-typically over here we have railcars with two trucks(1 truck has two wheel sets each with a spring suspension truck).

3. the wheels will have a safety factor designed into them as well. This is factor in to the design of a typical rail car; over here the typical rail car empty weighs over 50 tons and may weigh 135 tons or more loaded with ores.

4. if the machines are heavier the big worry is the rail road itself;

If the road bed is not in good condition all will be lost from poor ballasting, missing spikes in tie plates, broken railties and worst of all if the track geometry is not equidistant from side to side and level with adequate ballast the transfer will fail if it derails the transfer car.

5. The manufacturing plant;

Do you have your own machinery movers with experience to do the job or can you hire them if needed?

Can the floor of the plant handle the extra weight of the machines? that would be primary in any case.

Can any of the bridge cranes(if you have them) handle the extra weight involved with the machines-if not all is lost.

6. the slightly costlier option is:

a. to disassemble the machines after assembly and testing.

b. carry the individual pieces to the plant.

c. reassemble them, test them and finally commision them.

d. lastly but not least-do the above under contract from the manufacturer to save your self problems.

An absolute method would be to load the transfer up to beyond the weight of the machines in question and run it back and forth to the plant from the foundry etc to test it and hope it works as it will be easier to clean up that mess than a broken new machine.

lzaharis ■

Dear Mr. Madhu,

We are doing in the same line as envisaged by you in one of the projects engineered by us. But we are also removing the CRD & its panel & feeders.

So please give attetion in this regards too.

Regards.

A.Banerjee ■

Madhu,

My apologies, I asssumed your were moving a new piece of equipment from the manufacturer to a plant to replace another piece of fixed place equipment.

So what you have been explaining is that the transfer car moves the stacker reclaimer from a to b and back to a and you will be installing a larger stacker reclaimer?

If you are simply adding capacity why not just use a tracked bulldozer/earthmover to increase pile size by installing a ramp made of the stock piled product at one corner and push it up to the top and to the rear and increase pile height?

lzaharis ■

[QUOTE]Originally posted by madhusudhan

Dear lzaharis

No problem.

Yes, we are installing a higher capacity Stacker reclaimer.

You are correct but client is not interested in increasing the stock pile height(existing stock pile height is 12.6m). So we were forced to go for a heigher capacity Reclaimer. [/QUO

[E]

Madhu,

SO please correct me if I am wrong-

You have a fixed or small variable distance boom on the reclaimer which is on a stationary track? and you are adding length to the stock pile.

He could have had ship trimmer for a lot less work.

lzaharis

What is it he is moving so fast that he wants a faster method of stockpiling and reclaiming?

Forty feet plus is not that high especially with a trapezoidal pile but I hope his down stream end can handle the extra capacity he wants-otherwise he will be very mad as I am sure you know.

Here's to hoping you do not have to shovel his spills of ore:^( when the tail pulley plugs at the transfer point. ■