Exciting engineering challenges with great prizes

Show off your skills and solve real design problems

Chain wear indicator

Konecranes challenges you to invent a chain wear indicator.

Most hoists are chain hoists, for their strength and reliability, and used for lifting and lowering free movable loads. The lifting movement is generated by an electric motor. The pictures below show the assembly and a chain. During lifting the chain wears. This is acceptable up to a certain level, as defined by the ISO 7592.

Konecranes is looking for new Ideas to detect the chain wear of the chain in a chain hoist. When lifting the chain. At the moment the chain wear is measured by hand with a sliding caliper. Be creative and try to come out with something completely new and innovative by either upgrading the current solution or re-designing the whole concept. Good luck!

Requirements

  • Wear limit is reached according to ISO 7592, if any of the following conditions are observed:
    a) Cracks
    b) Serve nicks or gouges
    c) Visible distortion
    d) Severe corrosion
    e) Deposits which cannot be removed
    f) The gauge length measured over an 5, 7, 9 or 11 links as appropriate exceeds that of the unused chain by 2% if power driven
    g) If interlink wear leaves a rough surface, this indicates that rapid wear is occurring and the chain should be rejected immediately

  • Please note (added Dec 11, 2012):
    1. Chain Sizes in mm: 4x11; 5x14; 7x20; 9x27; 11,3x31
    2. Budget: Production costs 50€ or ~$65 USD.
    3. The solution should be mechanical and should be onboard (part of the hoist). No service tools, please.
    4.Ist not allowed to create a new chain!
    5. A Tip for design: As the chain wears the links elongate, the pitch circle increases. Perhaps this can be useful for some solutions. For a visual of this effect, download specifications, below.

Download specification

Rules

  • Design can be made in any software as long as Step file is provided.

  • Winning design will be chosen based on the rules and requirements.

  • The competition is open to everyone.

  • You can submit several designs.

  • Team entries are welcome. In case of team win, prize money will be transferred to team leader who is solely responsible for splitting it among team members.

  • Only models uploaded to GrabCAD library through this challenge page will participate in the competition.

  • Tag your model with “chain wear indicator”. Only entries with valid tag will participate!

  • You may upload a private model but you need to share access with kaspar@grabcad.com and Dominik.Mueller@konecranes.com. This will help the judges see your entry.

  • Privately uploaded models will be made public after the competition deadline.

  • Competition starts: 30th of October, 2012.

  • Competition ends: 15th of January 2013 23:59 in the last Time Zone.

  • Competition winner will be announced here on this Challenge page before 15th of February 2013.

Prizes

Cash prizes of $6,000

1st Prize

$3,000 cash

2nd Prize

$2,000 cash

3rd Prize

$1,000 cash

4th Prize

GrabCAD T shirt

5th Prize

GrabCAD T shirt

6th Prize

GrabCAD T shirt

About the jury?

The jury will be comprised of Konecranes and GrabCAD engineers.

About Konecranes

Konecranes is a world-leading group of Lifting Businesses™, serving a broad range of customers, including manufacturing and process industries, shipyards, ports and terminals. Regardless of your lifting needs, Konecranes is committed to providing you with lifting equipment and services that increase the value and effectiveness of your business.

www.konecranes.com

70 comments

  • MUSTAFA TOUIL

    MUSTAFA TOUIL over 11 years ago

    very interesting ... and 3 months are good... I am in.

    MUSTAFA TOUIL has uploaded 4 CAD models & has left 11 comments.
  • Ármin Fendrik

    Ármin Fendrik over 11 years ago

    Yeah, finally a challenge where we have the time to work on the sloution.

    Ármin Fendrik has uploaded 49 CAD models & has left 105 comments.
  • Nattawat Wongklom

    Nattawat Wongklom over 11 years ago

    ah interesting!

    Nattawat Wongklom has uploaded 6 CAD models & has left 15 comments.
  • Michael Sommer

    Michael Sommer over 11 years ago

    Like the timeframe.

    Michael Sommer has uploaded 6 CAD models & has left 1 comments.
  • Romano Gaspari

    Romano Gaspari over 11 years ago

    wow I already worked on this kinda hardware... but It will be hard competion.

    Romano Gaspari has uploaded 8 CAD models & has left 114 comments.
  • Simonr

    Simonr over 11 years ago

    Do you need a solution that detects all the wear indicators in the requirements or just as many as possible? In terms of winning, would a really good solution for one, out rank an average solution for more than one for example? Will several designs that detect different indicators submitted as a single entry be considered together, or each individually?

    Simonr has uploaded 24 CAD models & has left 216 comments.
  • Primož

    Primož over 11 years ago

    End date is probably 15th of January 2013 (and not 2012 as it is written in rules).

    Primož has uploaded 3 CAD models & has left 9 comments.
  • William

    William over 11 years ago

    Nice comp not had much time to enter other comps over the months due to work and study but with 3 months this sounds just great :P

    William has uploaded 112 CAD models & has left 6922 comments.
  • Stephen Nyberg

    Stephen Nyberg over 11 years ago

    I have not done chain inspections but I was a Non-Destructive Inspector in the marines and also a CWI and I would have to agree with Dave. I am not sure we can get away from a human visual inspection. But we can make this easier. A copy of the ISO and the chain sizes used in the hoists would be nice.
    Could we design a new chain?
    I was thinking of incorporating something like DTI washers or "squish" washers to make it more easy to see from a distance if there is an issue in between inspection intervals.

    Stephen Nyberg has uploaded 127 CAD models & has left 1243 comments.
  • Simonr

    Simonr over 11 years ago

    I think the idea is to come up with something new, out of the box - like most of the challenges here! I dare say Kona use a wide variety of chain specs for different lifts, so basing the design on a specific one or set of specs may be less useful than something that can adapt to any & all? There are a number of technologies which AFAIK have not been applied to this problem - so lots of scope for innovation!

    Simonr has uploaded 24 CAD models & has left 216 comments.
  • Simonr

    Simonr over 11 years ago

    Sorry "Kona" should be "Kone" - it was an iPad substitution!

    Simonr has uploaded 24 CAD models & has left 216 comments.
  • Stephen Nyberg

    Stephen Nyberg over 11 years ago

    I understand where you are coming from Simonr but Konecrane has 7 chain hoist cranes so that is a max of 7 chains (I'm not sure if the all use a different size.) Also, no mater how innovative they or we get, the inspection standards still have to be met. so any new inventive method still needs to meet the standard of the governing body. That is what myself and Dave were going for, not trying to tell people to stay in the box with their thinking but to make sure the box is still included.

    Stephen Nyberg has uploaded 127 CAD models & has left 1243 comments.
  • Simonr

    Simonr over 11 years ago

    @Stephen - I agree, there will be not complete substitute for proper testing and getting the different governing bodies to agree to something new in every country is going to be difficult. I thought I'd approach it as an early warning device, rather than try to replace regular testing.
    A bit of input from KoneCranes would be good though!

    Simonr has uploaded 24 CAD models & has left 216 comments.
  • Ibrahim Sanih Ahmed

    Ibrahim Sanih Ahmed over 11 years ago

    Sometimes doing too much innovative stuff can increase complexity and thereby increase the overall risks.

    If it were up to me, I'd have 3 hd cameras in a triangular arrangement inside an ambient capture box from where the chain moves through at the bottom of the Konecrane device. The image data will by processed. The image processing software should build a 3d model of the chain. Next the application should check the individual links of the 3d model chain for cracks, nicks, distortions, corrosion, deposits and deformation. You'll need a good control image data table to compare and recognize the first five. Deformation can be easily done once you have the 3d model by comparing the chain link lengths against the manufacturer defaults.

    Is this possible? Yes. Is it easy? No. Is it expensive. Hell yes!!!

    Ibrahim Sanih Ahmed has uploaded 12 CAD models & has left 83 comments.
  • Simonr

    Simonr over 11 years ago

    @Ibraham
    "Sometimes doing too much innovative stuff can increase complexity and thereby increase the overall risks."
    Your suggestion sounds complex to me! Although you say it's easy, it's certainly a lot more complex than something analogous to a Tape Measure!
    Good idea though!

    Simonr has uploaded 24 CAD models & has left 216 comments.
  • teigan

    teigan over 11 years ago

    automated methods are always more reliable than human inspection. problem is that automation is maintianed by humans too. i'll be opting for a method that measures electrical impedance between links. that requires the least amount of moving parts.

    teigan has uploaded 9 CAD models & has left 167 comments.
  • Ibrahim Sanih Ahmed

    Ibrahim Sanih Ahmed over 11 years ago

    @Simonr
    Hehehe... I think my phrasing might have made you misunderstand what I was trying to state. I was explaining that hypothetical implementation from a software developer's point of view. There are many potential areas where risk's need to be considered in that suggestion. So identifying the risks and tackling them is the hard part. This challenge is targeted for a more subtle approach considering the given timeline and reqs.

    And I didn't say it was easy. I stated that it was possible but not easy and definitely very expensive.

    Ibrahim Sanih Ahmed has uploaded 12 CAD models & has left 83 comments.
  • Simonr

    Simonr over 11 years ago

    @Ibrahim
    I agree! I just couldn't help but comment on the apparent irony of your statement & solution ;-)
    I think a vision system ultimately would be one of the best ways of implementing something like this (so well done!) but as you said, not the cheapest!
    In time, I am sure that most critical inspection tasks will be carried out by automated vision systems which are accurate more and objective than Humans!

    Simonr has uploaded 24 CAD models & has left 216 comments.
  • Nejc Robar

    Nejc Robar over 11 years ago

    I think it is not a relevant question "how to determine the critical wear". Procedures are known (standardized), relevant question is how to prevent human error. Or how to prevent a chance of use potentially dangerous equipment.

    Nejc Robar has uploaded 0 CAD models & has left 1 comments.
  • Colin Worobetz

    Colin Worobetz over 11 years ago

    This seems to be largely housekeeping, however I do have an solid solution for measuring the change in length over time. The others, not so much. If I get a chance I can model it, but I know how it will work if nothing else gets submitted, let me know.

    Colin Worobetz has uploaded 7 CAD models & has left 9 comments.
  • teigan

    teigan over 11 years ago

    it almost seems silly to model any of these solutions, especially as evidenced by the entries so far.

    teigan has uploaded 9 CAD models & has left 167 comments.
  • Sara Sigel

    Sara Sigel over 11 years ago

    It looks like there are a lot of questions about specifications, we will get answers to you as soon as possible. There is plenty of time still to think of solutions and add your entry - keep thinking!

    Sara Sigel has uploaded 1 CAD models & has left 1851 comments.
  • Sara Sigel

    Sara Sigel over 11 years ago

    @Eddwin I'm the Community Manager for GrabCAD - I'm not part of the Jury or participating in the Challenge but am just here to help.

    Sara Sigel has uploaded 1 CAD models & has left 1851 comments.
  • Sara Sigel

    Sara Sigel over 11 years ago

    We added some new, helpful tips for you under the Rules section. Also, all private entries should be sure to add kaspar@grabcad.com and dominik.mueller@konecranes.com as collaborators so the judges can view your work.

    Sara Sigel has uploaded 1 CAD models & has left 1851 comments.
  • Martijn Loonen

    Martijn Loonen over 11 years ago

    hi, can you explain the chain size? the smallest one has a thickness of 4mm and a pitch of 11 mm? When designing a solution, does it need to be proven on all sizes?

    Martijn Loonen has uploaded 3 CAD models & has left 9 comments.
  • Dominik Müller

    Dominik Müller over 11 years ago

    It doesn't need to be one solution for all chain sizes

    Dominik Müller has uploaded 0 CAD models & has left 2 comments.
  • Oleksa

    Oleksa about 11 years ago

    Very useful picture of weared chain link. Ther are many manuals, so I
    recommend to print search request in googlevchain hoist mHP0102

    Oleksa has uploaded 5 CAD models & has left 37 comments.
  • Oleksa

    Oleksa about 11 years ago

    chain hoist MHP0102

    Oleksa has uploaded 5 CAD models & has left 37 comments.
  • Igor B

    Igor B about 11 years ago

    Referencing Konecranes comepetition are you? @Oleksa:) It is maybe better to use operating manuals for Konecranes hoists. I have found XN5 and XN10 technical details online.

    Igor B has uploaded 7 CAD models & has left 29 comments.
  • Sara Sigel

    Sara Sigel about 11 years ago

    There will be a delay in visibility for entries as we near the Challenge deadline. Do not worry! I will refresh the entries a few hours after it finishes. I apologize for any confusion or inconvenience.

    Sara Sigel has uploaded 1 CAD models & has left 1851 comments.
  • Ajay Agrawal

    Ajay Agrawal about 11 years ago

    my entry still not show their..:(

    Ajay Agrawal has uploaded 43 CAD models & has left 118 comments.
  • nima

    nima about 11 years ago

    @ Ajay i have the same problem , Dear Sara please help us

    nima has uploaded 2 CAD models & has left 12 comments.
  • Sara Sigel

    Sara Sigel about 11 years ago

    I updated the entries, so it may be an issue with your tag. Can you check to make sure you have three separate tags "chain" "wear" and "indicator"?

    Sara Sigel has uploaded 1 CAD models & has left 1851 comments.
  • teigan

    teigan about 11 years ago

    i verified the tags. all three were as you specified, and still the entry is not showing.

    teigan has uploaded 9 CAD models & has left 167 comments.
  • Simonr

    Simonr about 11 years ago

    Well, that was a waste of my time! Submit a couple of entries based on the original requirements - then discover they are effectively ruled out by the 'clarification' at the 11th hour!

    Simonr has uploaded 24 CAD models & has left 216 comments.
  • Drazen

    Drazen about 11 years ago

    Interesting challenge... 15 days and no comments :)

    Drazen has uploaded 27 CAD models & has left 163 comments.
  • Sara Sigel

    Sara Sigel about 11 years ago

    We will announce results by Feb 15 :)

    Sara Sigel has uploaded 1 CAD models & has left 1851 comments.
  • Philippe Voinov

    Philippe Voinov about 11 years ago

    How does simonr have 2nd *and* 6th place?

    Philippe Voinov has uploaded 5 CAD models & has left 10 comments.
  • Sara Sigel

    Sara Sigel about 11 years ago

    Do not worry @Philippe, I caught that too and we will fix shortly. Sorry for the confusion!

    Sara Sigel has uploaded 1 CAD models & has left 1851 comments.
  • Vincenzo Ricci

    Vincenzo Ricci about 11 years ago

    congratulations to all the winners!

    Vincenzo Ricci has uploaded 11 CAD models & has left 149 comments.
  • Igor B

    Igor B about 11 years ago

    Congratulations to the winners!

    Igor B has uploaded 7 CAD models & has left 29 comments.
  • Simonr

    Simonr about 11 years ago

    Guess I'm buying the beer this evening!
    Si

    Simonr has uploaded 24 CAD models & has left 216 comments.
  • Phillip Ross

    Phillip Ross about 11 years ago

    Congrarulations.
    Just can't believe Oleksa's: ''Simple chain extension indicator'' didn't make it.

    Phillip Ross has uploaded 2 CAD models & has left 7 comments.
  • Branko Stokuca

    Branko Stokuca about 11 years ago

    Congrats to all winners but I have one thing to say. None of the models that is selected is good (according to jury). The first two are not accurate enough so I am asking why choosing something that is not good for you? The third place doesn't work (jury words), again why give it a reword if it doesn't work. The last two places have only one flaw- being expensive. Well gentleman, you can make an omelette without breaking an egg. Meaning if you want something that works flawlessly you must pay pretty penny for it. Because it seams to me that only criteria for the win was the money because you picked the models that are not good (your words, not mine). Good luck with your products.

    Branko Stokuca has uploaded 117 CAD models & has left 855 comments.
  • nima

    nima about 11 years ago

    Congratulation to all the winners , But i agree with Branko Stokuca . Which models are practical and really useful for Konecranes Co. ?

    nima has uploaded 2 CAD models & has left 12 comments.
  • Oleksa

    Oleksa about 11 years ago

    Congratulations to the winners
    @Phillip Ross Great thanks. I can't believe too :)
    Hm. It's very strange but I see new entries now, that not been after deadline, and can't see few old (I'm not sure in last)
    Please, do not get my words as my grievance.
    But I have few words about entries:
    1-st place: In first mechanical contact is not very good: chain elongation is very-very slow and one micron of radial extension accord to kilometers of tangential motion, links can simply wear mechanical lever or contact.
    In second the same idea is present in many entries:
    Mechanical contact
    http://grabcad.com/library/chain-wear-indicator--5
    Mechanical chain wear indicator
    and i can't see one old entry
    Non mechanical contact:
    Konecranes challenges (I'm not sure that it works in this modification)
    and my entry Simple chain extension indicator
    As for me it's not worse
    2-nd: Do yo really think that it's cheap? A few kilograms of excess gears and metal constructions
    3-rd: You say It not works. Why you choose it? (It not works really: the lever will slide along the chain link smoothly and will not strike ring (And it not depends from speed))
    4-th and 5-th: It's really expensive and cumbersome. I don't see sense to discuss it

    Perhaps the jury chosen not meticulously or something else. I'm disappointed

    Oleksa has uploaded 5 CAD models & has left 37 comments.
  • Branko Stokuca

    Branko Stokuca about 11 years ago

    The fact is that we needed to design a measuring instrument. What is the point in having a measuring instrument if it's not accurate. If you are not getting accurate results with one instrument than you must take another instrument to see if the results gained by first are correct. So the question that imposes here is what is the point of having such an instrument? I believe that you will be using calipers for a long time.

    Branko Stokuca has uploaded 117 CAD models & has left 855 comments.
  • Oleksa

    Oleksa about 11 years ago

    1-st place: Hey! PCB is very strange: two wires are shorted - it's no sense to connect them to PCB, and limit switches are connected in parallel - only first switch will signal about elongation.
    Of course, it's no problem to fix PCB, but why submit entry with gross mistakes?
    3-rd place: I was wrong It will works with unreal speed, but it does not change anything

    I can't imagine implemented winned proposals in the real hoist, except maybe 1-st place. This is reason of my disappointing. Because I seen many good entries, and noone from them winv

    Oleksa has uploaded 5 CAD models & has left 37 comments.
  • Simonr

    Simonr about 11 years ago

    QED

    Simonr has uploaded 24 CAD models & has left 216 comments.
  • Branko Stokuca

    Branko Stokuca about 11 years ago

    Another question: what was the reason for the poll that grabCAD started regarding this challenge? They were interested in how much time we had spent on this project. It seams to me that the jury wasn't sure which criteria to use, so they took time in the evaluation ;) Why didn't I say that it took me 100000000 hours to finish my exhausting project :)))))

    Branko Stokuca has uploaded 117 CAD models & has left 855 comments.
  • Oleksa

    Oleksa about 11 years ago

    @Branko Stokuca
    I don't think so. I hope you are wrong in this question

    Oleksa has uploaded 5 CAD models & has left 37 comments.
  • Branko Stokuca

    Branko Stokuca about 11 years ago

    @http://grabcad.com/oleksa-v. Well this is the question for the GC staff and I doubt that we will get a straight answer. I have participated in many challenges here and never been a part of any poll. This means that this is not something that GC started on there own. This was required by KONECRANES, I am sure. So why would they even care how much time it took us to finish our project? Maybe I am not so wrong.

    Branko Stokuca has uploaded 117 CAD models & has left 855 comments.
  • nima

    nima about 11 years ago

    Dear all i have a idea , in my opinion if GrabCAD and the jury choose the good ideas step by step in duration of 1 month it is better, then we could had such as these discussions before final decision of jury .May that is useful for them .
    We should respectful to the jury decision but we can have more kindly technical agument . We can learn more and more from others GrabCAD members then we are winner even if the jury decision was not match with our mind .

    nima has uploaded 2 CAD models & has left 12 comments.
  • Alex

    Alex about 11 years ago

    Congratulations to winners!

    Alex has uploaded 12 CAD models & has left 28 comments.
  • Igor B

    Igor B about 11 years ago

    Congratulations to GrabCAD for great engineering challenge. Aiming more for three month challenges could be a good idea, so engineers cant plan their time better, thus resulting in high quality submissions.
    As for the results, first I saw @Simonr submission, it blew my mind and I was on a brink of giving up. Seriously great idea. Sorry to see it in second place. It was not very detailed thou.
    And I am sorry to see so much flaming here. It is not the first time grabcaders do that after results have been announced. Grow up fellow losers! :P

    Igor B has uploaded 7 CAD models & has left 29 comments.
  • Branko Stokuca

    Branko Stokuca about 11 years ago

    @Igor B Having doubt in the results, especially when the jury says that designs are not good, is normal thing to have. That is called common sense. Are sure that you have one Mr. winner :)

    Branko Stokuca has uploaded 117 CAD models & has left 855 comments.
  • Sara Sigel

    Sara Sigel about 11 years ago

    A new 6th place winner has been selected! For those who do not know, you cannot win more than one prize in a challenge. Congratulations to all the winners!

    Sara Sigel has uploaded 1 CAD models & has left 1851 comments.
  • Sara Sigel

    Sara Sigel about 11 years ago

    @Branko The survey done by GrabCAD on how long members take for their entries was for our use and was not used by the judges or given to them for selection. We were interested to see what kind of commitment goes into entries. @Nima and @Igor I think some sort of period to hash out requirements and kick things off is a very good idea. Thanks :)

    Sara Sigel has uploaded 1 CAD models & has left 1851 comments.
  • Branko Stokuca

    Branko Stokuca about 11 years ago

    All of a sudden GC decides to have a poll :) many challenges happened parallel to this one and no polls. It's hilarious. @http://grabcad.com/eddwin.rodriguez-v I agree with you completely especially with No.3.

    Branko Stokuca has uploaded 117 CAD models & has left 855 comments.
  • Oleksa

    Oleksa about 11 years ago

    LOL, Tnaks, I have no words
    I hope this is not because the jury first saw my entry :)
    @Phillip Ross Thanks again!1

    Oleksa has uploaded 5 CAD models & has left 37 comments.
  • Oleksa

    Oleksa about 11 years ago

    @Eddwin rodriguez
    I think you are right

    Oleksa has uploaded 5 CAD models & has left 37 comments.
  • Phillip Ross

    Phillip Ross about 11 years ago

    That the chains would be greased was certainly worth a mention in the description. I should have inquered better.

    Phillip Ross has uploaded 2 CAD models & has left 7 comments.
  • ivan

    ivan about 11 years ago

    Congratulations to winners!
    imho, Konecranes patents in near 1,5 years display answer about 'who true winner of this challenge'

    ivan has uploaded 1 CAD models & has left 2 comments.
  • Oleksa

    Oleksa about 11 years ago

    @Ivan
    or their rivals, if they know about this competition ;)

    Oleksa has uploaded 5 CAD models & has left 37 comments.
  • Please log in to add comments.

    Log in
We have updated our terms in order to better protect your hard work and keep our challenges running smoothly! To submit your challenge entry, please read and accept the new Challenge Terms and Conditions.

Save Cancel