R.F. Innovation

Pruning Machine Concept Structure and Stability Validation According to CSA Standard Elevating Work Platforms

Phase 1: Structural Validation R.F. Innovation is specialized in the design and manufacture of pruning and trimming machines. The first mandate was to validate the stress level in the articulated arm developed by R.F. Innovation. The arm was loaded according to CSA specifications, and calculated stresses had to respect a safety factor related to the elastic limits of the materials throughout the full range of movement of the arm. Multibody Dynamics simulation representing the deployment of the arm, and flexible bodies assessing the stress throughout the range of movement, were the methods used by Lx Sim to make this structural validation.

Results:
The simulation allowed Lx Sim to propose necessary modifications to R.F. Innovation to comply with the standard and to validate that the final design met the criteria.

Phase 2: Wind Stability Validation
To comply with CSA elevating work platforms standard, the stability against the wind of the pruning machine had to be validated. Specifically, the machine has to remain stable in the most critical position, under nominal loading, facing a 12.5m/s wind. Lx Sim used CFD analysis to measure the wind loads on the entire structure. The resulting pressure was then applied to the mesh in the FEA analysis, which was then used to evaluate the reaction forces on the ground under the stabilizing legs of the machine. The results were used to give conclusions on the stability of the machine facing a 12.5m/s wind.

Results:
Evaluation of reaction forces under the stabilizing legs showed that the machine was stable against a 12.5m/s wind and complied with the CSA standard for wind stability.