Abstract

The study aims to improve the design and optimize the material used in passenger railway bogie manipulators to improve their performance and efficiency. It is an essential tool in railway maintenance for lifting and relocating heavy bogie assemblies. The primary goal was to reduce overall weight and material use while maintaining structural integrity and operational reliability. After verifying the system structure, the original 70 mm screw was reduced to a more efficient 63 mm variant. Finite Element Analysis was conducted on a mild steel component, subjected to a 25,000 N load, assuming linear elasticity and isotropy. The optimized model achieved a 6.62% volume reduction without compromising strength. After evaluating the original three-plate column design, it was considered extremely conventional with a high factor of safety (FOS) of 5. By using generative design techniques in Autodesk Fusion 360 software, a two-plate version with a more practical FOS of 3.75 was developed, by which a 14.88% reduction per column was observed. Applying this across the assembly (i.e., for both the columns) led to a total volume reduction of 43%, significantly increasing material efficiency. These results bring out the importance of simulation-led optimization in modern mechanical design.

Keywords: Bogie manipulator, material optimization, finite element analysis (FEA), stress analysis,  torque calculation.

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Abstract

The study aims to improve the design and optimize the material used in passenger railway bogie manipulators to improve their performance and efficiency. It is an essential tool in railway maintenance for lifting and relocating heavy bogie assemblies. The primary goal was to reduce overall weight and material use while maintaining structural integrity and operational reliability. After verifying the system structure, the original 70 mm screw was reduced to a more efficient 63 mm variant. Finite Element Analysis was conducted on a mild steel component, subjected to a 25,000 N load, assuming linear elasticity and isotropy. The optimized model achieved a 6.62% volume reduction without compromising strength. After evaluating the original three-plate column design, it was considered extremely conventional with a high factor of safety (FOS) of 5. By using generative design techniques in Autodesk Fusion 360 software, a two-plate version with a more practical FOS of 3.75 was developed, by which a 14.88% reduction per column was observed. Applying this across the assembly (i.e., for both the columns) led to a total volume reduction of 43%, significantly increasing material efficiency. These results bring out the importance of simulation-led optimization in modern mechanical design.

Keywords: Bogie manipulator, material optimization, finite element analysis (FEA), stress analysis,  torque calculation.

🔒 This is a subscription article

Full text is available to subscribers and institutional members. Please choose an option below to access it.