Construction

80 tonne, 3-axis concrete wall formwork trolley.

Electrical and motion-control design for an 80-tonne self-propelled formwork trolley — travelling along a track with three-axis Cartesian positioning to enable rapid concrete wall pour cycles on a major civil project.

Industry
Construction
Region
Australia
Capability
Motion control · drives · safety

Challenge

A national construction company needed a formwork solution that could keep pace with an aggressive concrete pour cycle on a major civil project.

The system had to handle an 80-tonne formwork structure, position it precisely along the wall, and let the site team advance pours without rebuilding the form from scratch each time.

Solution

An 80-tonne self-propelled formwork trolley with three-axis Cartesian motion — travelling along a fixed track and positioning the form in X, Y and Z.

  • Track travel along the wall line
  • Three-axis positioning — up / down, left / right, in / out
  • SINAMICS G120 drives across hydraulic and motor-driven axes
  • Drives connected to a Siemens S7-1511F safety PLC
  • Safety architecture covering motion, e-stops and guarding
Internal control panel with Siemens PLC, SINAMICS drives and valve controllers
Control panel internals — PLC, drives and valve controllers.
Detail of Siemens PLC rack with QZ1 and QZ2 valve controllers
PLC rack and valve controller modules — QZ1 / QZ2.
Trolley-mounted control cabinet with HMI on the door
Trolley-mounted control cabinet with operator HMI.
Foot jack and wheel jack assemblies on the trolley frame
Foot-jack and wheel-jack assemblies on the trolley.
80-tonne formwork trolley positioned in the cast-in-place wall section
Trolley in position against the wall under construction.
Site view of the formwork system across a long concrete wall section
Site view — the system in service.

Outcome

The construction team can reposition and re-pour without rebuilding the form between cycles.

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  • Emailadam@gotoengineering.au
  • Phone0403 427 094
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