Once notified of the fault, we immediately intervened analysing, first and foremost, how the fractures originated. The first step was to verify the structural steel employed which did not present any defects so the next stage was to focus on the stresses and loads generated by the transport trolley onto the rails during unloading operations.

Our client had opted for a non-conventional solution for these transport trolleys, a constructive solution that was the root cause of these “fractures”. After having analysed and studied the problem, we supplied new guides specifically designed to work in these conditions by:

• - Increasing the curving radius of the sheet metal to decrease the stress and load generated and to improve overall component performance.
• - Modifying the fixtures for mounting to the main structure so as to limit deformations in the rails when these are loaded.

The feasibility study, production and replacement work was all done in less than a week and we took advantage of the weekend shutdown to replace the guides avoiding any downtimes to the normal company production operations.

Having studied this problem and having developed the solution, has allowed us to apply technical improvements and modifications to our own production in this was way we can minimise the risk of fracture formation in components as well as having increased our experience and know-how for tackling with confidence future challenges.