Turning construction elements

It all started in September with the Product Development Project (PdP) course - one of the biggest interdisciplinary courses at Aalto University, aimed at master students in engineering, science, business, and design. During the course, students form teams according to complementary skills and collaborate on a year-long project of their choosing. Companies from various industries pitch their challenge and sponsor the projects that are then developed by the student teams.

Trenox, a Finnish company that specialises in tower crane operators, had a big challenge for the students. They were to develop a machine that can turn large wall elements at a construction site. In the construction of buildings, elements are assembled at the construction site and large components that are required for sizeable spaces to support a high ceiling, are transported horizontally. They are then rotated to a vertical position on-site, which requires the time and skill of two crane operators. 

In collaboration with a partnering university in Munich, Mikael Miettinen’s team chose to develop a mobile machine for Trenox - for large-scale rotating of construction materials. The machine is used in conjunction with a tower crane; the machine turns, and the crane lifts the element.

The prototype they developed is radio controlled and has a clamping system that holds the construction element. All functions of the machine move with hydraulic actuators, and a diesel generator powers the machine. Two working platforms are integrated for preparing the elements and attach lifting chains. 

The team needed to come up with solutions that can be manufactured, with strict safety requirements taken into consideration. The team is very excited about how their machine turned out, ‘We are working on a small revolution in element construction, and this changes the way of working on a construction site significantly. It will save a lot of time and money, and makes simplifies the building process’, Miettinen says. 

Many thanks to:
Panu Sainio, Kalevi Ekman and Jussi Tuomola

Aalto University:Mikael Miettinen (team leader), Mikael Sammatti, Joonas Pulliainen,
Juho Nummiluikki, Valtteri Vainio, Erno Valtavirta, Juho Lehto with
University of applied science Munich: Semih Can, Hilmi Yildirim, Larissa Bergmair,
Alexander Miller, Raphael Widman

Aalto University School of Engineering
Mechanical engineering
Aalto University School of Electrical Engineering
Translational engineering
Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture
Collaborative and industrial design
Product Development Project
Turning construction elements