Rolls Royce Engine Test Facility - Transporter Bridge
Rolls Royce Engine Test Facility - Transporter Bridge
SCX Special Projects designed, manufactured and installed a bespoke Transporter Bridge capable of lifting, rotating and distributing jet engines around the maintenance bays at Rolls Royce’s engine test facility in Derby.
Rolls Royce’s original Transporter Bridge, designed to traverse the depth of the building between maintenance bays, had no rotation capability. Prior to SCX Special Projects’ installation, Rolls Royce had to lower the engines down onto the back of flat-bed trucks in-between processes, so that they could be manoeuvred into the correct orientation before being raised back up and docked into the maintenance bays.
SCX Special Projects were appointed to develop an enhanced handling solution, which would encompass all the benefits of the existing system, whilst adding a rotation and alignment function for use between bays.
Positioned 15m high, the bespoke transporter bridge supports and rotates a main hoist and lifting attachment (or ‘Green Brick’) which couples with the docking frames that support the jet engines. To account for the weight imbalance of the engines, the system is built to support cantilevered loads of 44 tonnes at the front and 14 tonnes at the back.
The rolled-beam construction central turntable rotates the independent Brick unit on support rails then travels the depth of the building to accurately dock with multiple maintenance bays, where the Brick unit traverses on and off the bridge into each bay.
The rolled-beam construction central turntable rotates the independent Brick unit on support rails then travels the depth of the building to accurately dock with multiple maintenance bays, where the Brick unit traverses on and off the bridge into each bay.