Welding Simulation to Optimise the Design and Development of Off Highway Construction Equipment

Understand the levels of accuracy that can be expected in a simulation with a view to establishing the state-of-the art in a commercial environment.

Construction equipment is used in highly demanding structural applications across the globe for moving and removing materials from one place to another.

The primary load bearing structures of these machines such as chassis’, loader arms and excavator ends are invariably arc-welded steel fabrications. Sheet steel is dominant but significant quantities of box sections and steel castings are also used.

The use of arc-welded steel fabrications has proven itself durable in these highly loaded applications over many years and there is considerable qualitative experience in selecting the correct welding parameters. However, the process of designing fixtures, optimising welding parameters and validating them is a highly time-consuming iterative and expensive process. More recently, simulation tools have become available to help Design and Manufacturing Engineers optimise their design at an early stage in the process to reduce cost and time to market.

Dr David Panni, JCB Group Structures Manager, outlines the historic processes for proving out fabrications and then provide case studies where up-front weld simulations have been successfully used to optimise weld parameters to reduce distortion and improve weld penetration while reducing the physical testing required.