GFE SOLUTIONS · CASE STUDIES

CRANE GIRDER FEA — STATIC, FATIGUE AND
CE DOCUMENTATION

FEM Case - Crane manufacturing

Industry

Crane & lifting equipment

Country

Germany

Software

ANSYS Mechanical

Duration

3 weeks

ABOUT THE PROJECT

The situation

A crane manufacturer developed a new 20-tonne bridge crane girder with a modified cross-section designed to reduce material cost relative to the previous generation. Before the design could be released for production, FEM validation across all relevant load cases was required — both as an internal quality gate and to support the CE technical file. The cross-section modification introduced geometry that had not been validated in service, and the fatigue behaviour of the modified weld details needed to be assessed before any tooling was prepared.

What GFE did

GFE performed linear static analysis across all required load combinations, eigenfrequency analysis, and fatigue life calculation per FEM 1.001 crane standard. The analysis identified two weld details in the modified cross-section with stress concentrations that would not have achieved the required fatigue life. Both details were redesigned before any production tooling was cut. The revised design passed all load cases. The full analysis report was prepared in a format suitable for inclusion in the CE technical file.

Results

FEM 1.001

all load cases passed

2 welds

redesigned pre-production

~€18,000

saved vs. post-build fix

CE docs

supported

Finding those welds in simulation rather than in the field was the whole point of the exercise.

WHY GFE

Why GFE for FEM and strength analysis

Software-independent approach

GFE works in ANSYS, Dlubal RFEM, SolidWorks Simulation, and LS-DYNA — matched to the analysis type and client environment.

Failure investigation

GFE has resolved field failures where standard corrective measures had already been exhausted — identified through simulation.

Standards-compliant reports

Analysis reports are structured for CE technical files, insurance submissions, and TÜV review — not internal calculation notes.

No language barrier

All team members are fluent in English, with additional language skills in German, Italian, Spanish, and more.

Need a structural calculation or CE documentation support?

Schedule a 20-minute call with our team – no obligation, no pitch deck.

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CLIENTS

Our customers

CLIENTS

Client voice

Christian Menke
,,

Christian Menke

  ·  

V. KRANZ GmbH

Our company produces safety-relevant welding assemblies for the chemical and pharmaceutical industry.

Due to the fact that it has become increasingly difficult to find good engineers and designers for our design department at our location in rural Münsterland, we set out at the end of 2018 to look for new external solutions in the service market.

Daniel Ilge
,,

Daniel Ilge

  ·  

WALDRICH COBURG GmbH

I really appreciate GFE’s flexibility and openness for new challenges. They are not afraid to start a new journey.
If I think about the external circumstances of the project we started together, we reached a learning curve and relating results that I did personally not expect.

Frank Pfister
,,

Frank Pfister

  ·  

CVS engineering GmbH

We required additional capacity and professional support for our R&D Team especially for a new product development.

And GFE Solutions offers capable support by very well-educated engineers. High professionalism. On time delivery and great communication (native German speakers).

Dr. Thomas Bauer
,,

Dr. Thomas Bauer

  ·  

DIENES Apparatebau GmbH

We are the company in constant need for plants for research or pilot projects of our clients. Last year we were working over the order in the field of medical technologies, which we succeeded to realize, including thanks to efforts of GFE Solutions team.

Sebastian Schuelke
,,

Sebastian Schuelke

  ·  

SICON GmbH

We were in need of help with our design department ressources and we had to move fast, internal ressources were not available and GFE was able to help quickly and competent. GFE works with dedication to the very needs of its customers, has a variety of specialists and has offered a fair price on a transparent basis.

Lukas Jochimek
,,

Lukas Jochimek

  ·  

Schauenburg Maschinen- und Anlagen-Bau GmbH

We were looking for additional engineers to expand our construction capacity. You seemed to be a young, motivated Team and except your professional expertise, your personal commitment made me confident to work with you. The cooperation has been seamless and very productive from the start. We are happy with the results.

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