{"id":3524,"date":"2020-04-27T13:40:20","date_gmt":"2020-04-27T17:40:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/thought-leadership\/?p=3524"},"modified":"2026-03-26T12:04:04","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T16:04:04","slug":"designing-durable-heavy-equipment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/thought-leadership\/designing-durable-heavy-equipment\/","title":{"rendered":"Designing heavy equipment to meet structural integrity and durability requirements"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Where today meets tomorrow \u2013 meeting the performance engineering demands of tomorrow\u2019s heavy equipment machines <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Backhoe loaders are smaller, more versatile and more\nadaptable than almost any other piece of construction equipment. Their ability\nto perform a wide variety of tasks, such as earthmoving, landscaping, small\ndemolition, equipment transportation and even paving roads is why they\u2019re one\nof the most popular, and for manufacturers one of the most competitive,\nconstruction equipment options on the market. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s not just backhoes that are highly competitive though. Being\nsuccessful in this market takes ingenuity, innovation and advanced technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amid varying trends and increasing complexity in designing\nthe structural integrity of construction equipment, and other heavy equipment\nfor mining or agriculture, manufacturers face challenges with advanced\ntechnologies, stringent local regulations and customization demands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s take a look at some of the trends in the heavy\nequipment industry centered around structural integrity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Efficiency.<\/strong>\nGovernments are placing stricter emission regulations associated with air and\nnoise pollution. On top of that, finite resources such as oil demand\nsustainable solutions, such as moving from combustible engines to\nelectrification.<\/li>
Versatility.<\/strong>\nCustomers, contractors and operators use these machines for a wide range of\nwork and are under pressure to deliver timely performance without compromising\ndurability. Customers are also demanding more universal machines to get the\nhighest amount of work at the lowest cost.<\/li>
Economy. <\/strong>The\nrace for market share has never been harder. To meet customer demand, more\nproduct variants are offered on the market in a shorter amount of time. Innovation\nand costs are more important than ever before. Downtimes caused by failures as\nwell as with maintenance work are impacting the productive operation and cost\nof ownership.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Reliability remains a crucial selling point together with efficiency, versatility and costs. The biggest factor is how all of these effect brand image. Lack of reliability or the previously mentioned trends can reflect poorly on a brand\u2019s image.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Priority #1 for OEMs and suppliers: developing reliable and durable machinery in short development time<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
So, how do you deliver a more reliable, lower cost machine that\nis also lighter, stronger and more durable?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first is to explore the customer and determine their\nneeds. This incorporates local customer use and loading needs to set realistic\ndurability targets. Observing how customers actually use the product helps to understand\ntheir needs. To meet these customer demands, the right design targets are set according\nto customer and market requirements. This prevents both over-design and\nunder-design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Frontload engineering is used for virtual prototyping validating strengths and the performance of machines subsystems and components before committing to physical prototype. Virtual products and prototypes can predict loads, stresses and fatigue in different development stages reducing the number of prototypes and tests needed without sacrificing reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Multi-body Simulation for realistic loads operation<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
The goal is to drive discovery early in the design process\nwhere modeling and simulation lead to updates and enhancements at the lowest\ncost. Any issues discovered in the concept and design phase are significantly\nless costly than those found in production where time to make changes is\nsignificantly shorter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Using simulation for virtually\ntesting and validating components<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
With simulation, individual components are tested in a\nsimulated field as well as how components interact in a comprehensive virtual\ntest bench. Not only can simulation enlighten interaction between components,\nwhich can then be enhanced or balanced within a digital twin, but virtual testing\nof real-world factors can provide data on performance. For instance, how does\nthe system or specific component react on hard roads versus smooth roads? Or how\nwill it manage obstacles in the road?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This data can be used to retest and validate individual components after optimization. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Machine full scale test to drive virtual testing<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Of course, the challenges include data gathering in real use\nand real-world scenarios on top of big data analysis, development of insight on\ncustomer usage (events and loading) and statistical quantification, and\ncorrelation of test and simulation using proven data analytics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This begins at the concept stage when customer observation\nand condition monitoring take place. Instrument readers and sensors can record information\non the current performance of machines and transfer it wirelessly to the cloud\nwhere it\u2019s stored. Data collection is obviously key to building the simulation\nin which tests are conducted, but more important is understanding the data, knowing\nwhat it means and how to build the simulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the simulation side, model-based simulation provides\nconcept analysis, composition analysis and predictive analysis. During concept\nanalysis, the design team can undergo component assessments to determine if\ncomponents from a previous design or machine can be reused or if it needs to be\ncreated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Predictive analysis determines how the heavy equipment\noperates when in the field. Through condition monitoring and continual feedback\ncombined with simulation, maintenance needs are predicted allowing users to\nfactor and schedule in downtime. Predictive analysis can determine expected\nproblems in performance or with components within its lifetime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Design space\nexploration and functional requirements<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
There are two areas that influence the design space and\nrequirements of building the machines. The first is customer influence. Analysis\nof the machine usage loads depending on its configuration and customer, from\nengine type to the market the machine is to be used, all of which is in respect\nto fatigue loadings, acceleration forces and other factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The other influence are the design parameters. This influence\nregards functional quantities, such as new axle kinematics with respect to\ncomponent loads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A virtual test bench ensures design teams can test the components and machine\u2019s attributes in a simulated environment before creating a physical prototype. The virtual test bench means that teams can alter scenarios and simulate a variety of environments to ensure requirements are met. Once tested in the real-world, that data can be fed back into the test bench to gain further insight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A new era of\ndurability engineering<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
When the goal is to deliver lighter, stronger and more\ndurable machines, challenges surrounding time, costs and sustainability are\nstrongly in the minds of the design teams. How do you become the first to\nmarket with the most durable and innovative product that fulfills customer\ndemands, market requirements and functional requirements?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It begins with knowing the customer and their conditions, which leads to concept modeling. In the early stage, virtual prototyping and simulation gives designers the upper hand when balancing multi-domain and multi-physics directly impacting the structural integrity and durability of the heavy equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our Xcelerator portfolio is how heavy equipment manufacturers can bring digitalization to the workplace to maximize efficiency, reliability and durability when building tomorrow\u2019s complex machines. Read more about what Xcelerator<\/a> can do for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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