Development of Load Case Model for the Design of Butt & Top Grapples

The sponsor company, Tigercat specializes in the design and manufacturing of premium quality forestry equipment and specialized off-road industrial equipment. This four months internship project will provide the company a set of load cases validated on a new design, optimized detail 3D and 2D models, selected material lists, and FEA simulation results of a tracked material handling machine attachment called a "Butt and Top Grapple". These deliverables will help the company reduce costs, increase product performance, and be competitive in the forestry equipment industry. This project will develop a load case model that can be used to evaluate stresses on key components on any grapple design to determine possible design changes to improve the grapple's durability and performance by reducing its weight and incorporating a stop mechanism into the grapple design. In order to achieve these goals, computer-aided design and finite element analysis methodologies and software will be used.

Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Robert Fleisig

Student:

Kukjin Shin

Partner:

Tigercat Industries

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Forestry

University:

McMaster University