Development of a new type of piling machine using virtual prototyping technology

With a high load capacity compared with other types of piling machines, the piling machine with extruding arms has found wider application in civil engineering construction in recent years. However, due to the complexity of soil mechanic analysis, which is a key component in the development of piling machine products, it turns to be difficult to determine the design constraints. Automatic dynamic analysis of mechanical system, based on the virtual prototyping technology, can be used to simulate the actual working condition of machines to be designed. It shortens the product development cycle by providing convenient amendments to the virtual prototype in accordance with the results of simulation. To begin with, this paper builds the virtual prototype of a new type of piling machine with extruding arms. Thereafter, the load distribution exerted on the extruding arms during the extruding action, and the force curve of the extruding arms are obtained by the theoretical analysis of soil mechanics. Finally, taking the actual working condition into consideration, a kinetic and dynamic simulation analysis of the virtual prototype is made using software ADAMS and a further discussion is presented. The design process and methodology adopted in this paper can be a valuable reference for the design and development of similar products.