Gantry Crane Build

The main beam assembly for the gantry crane is made using I-Beam B-36. I glued a B-8 I-beam into an C-12 channel then glued this to the top of the B-36. This will be the run way rail for the crane assembly. I sanded the bottom of the B-36 flat so it would glue to the A-4 on the side support. I also glued a spacer onto the main beam so that I could get more glue surface for the side support.

The C-12 channel on top of the side support is just to hide the top area where the four posts meet. I glued CFS-4 white styrene channels onto the B-36 to make the main beam look like a girder plate.

This is side view of the main beam assembly showing the side support leg glued in place. At the top is the B-8 / C-12 assembly then the main beam(B-36). The white styrene is the CFS-4 channel. The spacer between the main beam and the side support is an H-8 column.

This is the completed main beam / side support assembly.

I'm gonna have to figure out how to save this thread for future reference.

Thanks Joe

Joe,

I am a retired mechanical engineer who designed and performed design analysis calculations for bay cranes in tonnages from 50 to 350 tons from the late 1970's through the mid 1980's. The bay cranes we designed and built had triaxial motion. For reference , the bridge structure and drive equipment moves in the x-direction, the trolley and its drives moves in the y-direction(90 degrees to the x-direction) and the hoist in the z-direction( 90 degrees to the x-y plane of the trolley and bridge). The runway structure that you designed and build including the sway bracing is well conceived. I have built many of the Plastruct O Scale kits including the oil refinery  and purchased component shapes(ABS or styrene) other structures or roof trusses for my IHC enginehouses. The oil refinery is very detailed and one must be able to read a print to build this kit, once completed, it adds a new detail to the layout. The bay crane seams to be the HO Cornerstone bridge crane kit. This is a good example where an HO structure can used on a O Scale or 3-Rail layout.

Thanks for the info John

The motor assembly comes next. The motor assembly consists of two plates of 80 mil white styrene. One plate is about 1/8 inch wider than the other. This ledge will fit into a H-6 column that will act as a rail runner on the girder beam assembly. There are two TB-8 tubes on both ends. Theses act simply as bracing. The two TB-12 tubes on the inside will be used to roll the hoist up and down. The back tube as the two TB-8’s are glued to the side plates. The TB-12 with the TB-4 sticking out is a loose fit that can rotate.

The TB-8 tubing have small pieces of TB-4 inserted as shown above. The same applies to the two TB-12 except one end of on tube has an extended length of TB-4.

Holes are drilled into the inside plate and one hole is drilled on one of the outside plates. The tubing is fitted into one inside plate then the other inside plate is attached on the opposite side. Finally the outside plates are fitted and glued in place. Be careful not to get glue around the TB-12 that needs to rotate.

The motor housing is built with 80 mil styrene sides and 40 mil roof laminated with corrugated siding. In the bottom figure you can see the motor housing sitting in the H-6 runners. If the housing is a tight enough fit it can be fitted over the motor assembly without glue. In this case it was a little too wide so spacers had to be added and the housing glued onto the motor assembly. This won’t matter when it comes time to attach the hoist with threading.

I used a OWTA 24 truss member with C-16 end caps in the front and back of the gantry crane superstructure. These are the only hard glued sections holding the gantry together so the customer will need to glue the supports to his table.

Next was the bridge girder and end trucks. The bridge girder is a piece of BFS-20 I-beam with a H-6 column glued on top as a runner for the motor assembly. I glued sections of C-16 as glue bases for the end trucks but later cut them a lot shorter. I still need to add C-6 as stiffeners to one side of each bridge girder.

I deviated from my plans and built the end trucks differently this time. I glued four sets of two WH-20 wheels together and sandwiched them between two C-12 channels. The wheels will not spin however they glide smoothly in the runway track. Next gantry crane I am going to extend the end trucks past the girder beams and place the wheels on the outside of the beams. This will look more realistic and add more stability to the girder beam assembly. I am going to try gluing the end truck to the girder beam as shown below or glue the girder beam to the top of the end truck. Not sure which as yet.

A couple of photos of the almost complete gantry crane.

Joe, your cranes are fantastic. Thank you very much for the step by step instructions with photo's. I hope to to make one in the fall.

Coach Joe you can save this thread to PDF file. Go up to your browser menu, select File, then select Print, in the Print menu there will be a destination or other print option, from there select PDF and follow the prompts to where you want to save it.

-Tom

Joe I agree with Tom.

Tom thanks for the heads up on saving the topic.

Joe,

you are welcome. I have saved several threads like this great one to pdf files and can open them on my iPad in my train room when I attempt a project.

Tom

The control booth is basically a 2 inch square box. I used 40 mil thick styrene laminated with Plastic corrugated siding. The railing is HR-8. I added a small control booth to the inside and made the door a sliding style as shown in the next photo.

I decided to attach the control to the super structure so mad a small platform from 40 mil sheet stock and glued it to the side assembly. The gantry crane is basically ready for paint. The customer wants dark gray. After painting I will attach the cable hook.

Joe,

Thanks for posting the fabrication of the bay crane, one question, how did you fabricate the hook block and what did you use for the hook.

John

Joe, This is great work, as always.  Thanks for the details!

John Ochab posted:

Joe,

Thanks for posting the fabrication of the bay crane, one question, how did you fabricate the hook block and what did you use for the hook.

John

 

John:

The hook is made by Conrad/NZG. It is the YCC or NZG 202 single sheave version. An example is https://jlcranes.com/product/h...v-redwhite-41-ton-2/          or http://www.dhsdiecast.com/Hook-Block-1-Shiv-Red_White-41-ton/productinfo/YCC202/ This stuff is popular so is out of stock a lot. When I get lucky I will order 5 at a time.

The crane has been painted and shipped.

I left the roof on the control booth loose in case the customer wants to add a figure inside. The hook is a YCC single sheave. It's a little expensive (~$25) but a beautiful hook.

Joe, Thanks again for posting all the build pictures. Your work is fantastic.

Tom

Your welcome Tom