EquipmentHydraulic anode gripper mounted on the plant handling equipment
DeliverableDesign, FEA verification, fabrication drawings and built unit
The challenge
Picking an anode by its rod, holding it safely during transfer and releasing it in position, thousands of times, in a hot and abrasive environment. The existing gripper had slow cycles and premature wear; it had to be redesigned for the real operation without changing the carrier equipment.
Scope
Survey of the pick, transfer and drop cycle and of the existing equipment failures
Design of the articulated jaw mechanism with hydraulic actuation and self-centring on the rod
Gripper structural body and interface with the carrier equipment
Finite element verification of arms, pins and body under operating load
Hydraulic circuit and its components
Fabrication drawings, bill of materials and workshop build follow-up
How we worked
Designed from the operation. Jaw geometry came from the real pick-and-drop cycle, not a catalogue.
From drawing to workshop. The body was fabricated and assembled from the delivered documentation, with Dinvent follow-up in the workshop.
Result
Safe grip, shorter cycle
Gripper redesigned, verified and built, aimed at cutting cycle times and maintenance costs in anode handling.