Custom Designed Wall Mounted Shop Crane

The objective of this project was to design and fabricate a custom wall mounted jib crane to specific, non-standard dimensions. The crane was designed to be industry rated for 2000 pounds, rotate at least 180 degrees, and be designed to have a maximum boom length tailored to the specific installation site. Two potential installation sites and purposes were selected for construction: inside the bay doors of a fabrication shop, intended to transfer large pieces of material to and from a plasma table, and inside a car maintenance garage, intended to lift and remove engines and transmissions from cars. Design of the crane revolves primarily around the mounting assembly that consists of rotating hinge brackets made from ½, ¾ inch 532 steel plate, and 2 inch diameter structural tubing. Based on the material properties of the steel used, the highest stress point on the crane has a 1.6 minimum factor of safety, assuming a 12 foot boom arm. After installation, testing resulted in successful rotation of the boom arm through a range of motion of at least 180 degrees, and lifting of 2000 pound loads with less than 1/16th of an inch of deflection at the end of the boom arm