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A Study of Scissor Lifts Using Parameter Design

Conference Paper · November 2020

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-64719-3_10

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 A Study of Scissor Lifts
Using Parameter Design

Anh-Tuan Dang1, Dinh-Ngoc Nguyen2(&), and Dang-Hao Nguyen1

1
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Thai Nguyen University of Technology,
Thai Nguyen, Vietnam
2
Faculty of International Training,
Thai Nguyen University of Technology, Thai Nguyen, Vietnam
[email protected]

Abstract. Scissor lifts are applied for transporting or lifting various objects.
Hydraulic cylinders are used to raise or lower platforms which have many ways
to arrange. This study aims to determine appropriate dimensions in design 1X
hydraulic scissor lifts. Using symbolic variables to control the dimensions,
positions of the cylinder are calculated to ensure the effectiveness of working
space and forces in the cylinders. Results obtained from the calculations indicate
the practice of numerical methods and can be used to determine optimal
dimensions for design 1X scissor lifts.

Keywords: Cylinder, scissor lift Kinetic analysis, parameter design

1 Introduction

Scissor lifts are lifting devices, which employ scissors mechanism to raise or lower
goods or people through relatively far distances. A choice of lift devices is made based
on three main criteria: lifting height, lifting weight, and lifting equipment according to
the drive devices. There have been many layouts of scissor lifts concerned with the
arrangement of the cylinder. These dimensions involve the working space of lifts and
the operation of cylinders; they play an important role in the platform movement. There
have been studies dealing with studying scissor lifts, some of which focus on simu-
lation software to evaluate the operation of the system or calculated strength of com-
ponent lift to determine suitable design dimensions [1–8]. However, there have been
few studies dealing with the arrangement of cylinders or construction of the specific
equation to calculate thrust force for cylinders.
This study analyzes a model of scissor lifts in the given figure (Fig. 1), from which
the appropriate dimensions for the system can be calculated. Results from the study are
shown in graphic charts covering the relationship between cylinder features and plat-
form operations. Through the calculation, decisions can be made to select the appro-
priate dimension for design and manufacture similar devices.

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021

K.-U. Sattler et al. (Eds.): ICERA 2020, LNNS 178, pp. 75–85, 2021.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64719-3_10
76 A.-T. Dang et al.

A 5 B

Q
2
4 M 3

C P 1 D

Fig. 1. Sketch of the mechanism: 1. Ground frame, 2. Inner frame, 3. Outer frame, 4. Cylinder,
5. Platform (hoisting terrace).

2 Kinematic Analysis
Studying the movement of scissor lifts with different dimensions, it can be concluded
that the designate dimensions in Fig. 2 are the elements with the most influence on the
lift structure (in both movement and strength calculation). When the cylinder changes
its length from Lmin to Lmax, the platform raises from the lowest position (Hmin) to the
highest position (Hmax). However, this variable (H) also depends on the length of the
frame (AD, BC) and the angle c between frames. Therefore, it is difficult for designers
to choose the exact dimensions from the layout to simulate the system movement.

Fig. 2. Scissor lift with symbolic parameter

Using symbolic parameter, a = a*A, b = b*a, and lc = k*a (see Fig. 2) with
0.5 > a>0; 1 b > 0 and k > 0), the system containing the basic parameters is the
length of frame A, and other parameters are related to the layout of the cylinder in the
system (a, b and k). The kinetic analysis process will evaluate the position, velocity of
joints, and links in the mechanism.
During operation, the cylinder changes its length from kmin to kmax to raise the
height of the platform from Hmin to Hmax, respectively. This height can be established
by expressions:
 A Study of Scissor Lifts Using Parameter Design 77

c
H ¼ A sin ð1Þ
2
The angle between frames c is determined from the relation equation of triangular
MPQ

a2 þ b2 l2xl a2 þ ðb:aÞ2 ðk:aÞ2 1 þ b2 k2

cos c ¼ ¼ ¼ ð2Þ
2ab 2b:a2 2b

Substituting to Eq. (1):

rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
c 1 cos c k2 ð1 bÞ2
H ¼ A sin ¼ A ¼A ð3Þ
2 2 4b

To maintain the balance of the structure, the maximum angle between frames of the
scissor mechanism is chosen to range from cmin to cmax, i.e.

1 þ b2 k2
cos cmin [ cos c ¼ [ cos cmax ð4Þ
2b

Substitute to Eq. (2):

qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
1 þ b2 2b: cos cmax k 1 þ b2 2b: cos cmin ð5Þ

The raising ratio when lifting the object from the lowest to the highest position is
determined by the following equation:
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
Hmax Hmin k2max ð1 bÞ2 k2min ð1 bÞ2
kH ¼ ¼ ð6Þ
A A 4b 4b

Based on Eq. (6), it can be constructed in Fig. 3 describing the working area for the
position of cylinder depending on the coefficients b and k:
From Fig. 3, it is observed that the appropriate factor for the design system can be
chosen. For instance, with the given factor b = 0.6, and the designate range of scissor
angle c varies from 15° to 120°, the corresponding parameter for cylinder k ranges
from 0.45 to 1.55. It is noticed that the stretch ratio of the cylinder can be found as
follows.

kc ¼ kmax =kmin ¼ 1:55=0:45 ¼ 3:44 ð7Þ

Nevertheless, it is impossible to choose a cylinder appropriate with this ratio since

most cylinders have a stretch ratio smaller than 1.8.
78 A.-T. Dang et al.

Fig. 3. Working range of the angle frame c with variables of b and k

With b = 0.15, and the operation angle ranges from 15° to 135°, the new parameter
for the cylinder is kmin = 0.85 and kmax = 1.11, and the stretch ratio now is kc =
1.11/0.85 = 1.31. This ratio makes it easier to select the available cylinders.
It can be seen that the ratio H/A and the angle c have the same curve, which
depends on b and k (c.f. Figure 1), so that we can combine the ratio into Fig. 1 and
calculate the raising coefficient for the system by using Eq. (6):

kH ¼ 0:924 0:131 ¼ 0:793 ð8Þ

The meaning of this result is that if the lifting system uses scissor frame with the
length of the frame A = 100 cm, the raising height of the system when it raises from
the lowest position (c = 15°) to the highest position (c = 165°) is 0.793*100 =
7 9.3 cm. With the given structure of the system, if the value of b larger than 0.4, the
initial value for c must be above 30° to maintain the value of kmin large enough and
affect the dimension of the system. Some of the dimensions are selected to check the
efficient operation of the system, shown in Table 1:

Table 1. Raising efficiency and operation angle of the system with different values of b and k
Number b kmin kmax = kmin*1.35 Operation angle u Raising efficient kH
1 0.2 0.82 1.11 22°–119° 0.86−0.19 = 0.67
2 0.3 0.85 1.15 52°–113° 0.83−0.44 = 0.39
3 0.3 0.75 1.01 29°–83° 0.66−0.25 = 0.41
4 0.35 0.85 1.15 55°–104° 0.79−0.46 = 0.33
5 0.35 0.85 1.15 55°–107° 0.80−0.46 = 0.34
(continued)
 A Study of Scissor Lifts Using Parameter Design 79

Table 1. (continued)
Number b kmin kmax = kmin*1.35 Operation angle u Raising efficient kH
6 0.4 0.62 0.84 15°–55° 0.46−0.13 = 0.33
7 0.4 0.80 1.08 49°–91° 0.71−0.41 = 0.30
8 0.5 0.85 1.15 58°–94° 0.73−0.48 = 0.25
9 0.6 0.9 1.21 63°–95° 0.74−0.52 = 0.22
10 0.6 0.8 1.08 53°–81° 0.65−0.45 = 0.20

For example, with b = 0.4, if kmin = 0.62 (corresponding to c = 15°), value of kmax
should not larger than 0.62 1.35 = 0.837 (corresponding to c = 55°) and the raising
efficiency kH = 0.46-0.13 = 0.33, too small for the idea design. Even when we are
raising the initial angle (c = 49°) to get kmin = 0.80 and kmax = 0.80 1.35 = 1.08
(c = 91°), the raising efficiency still equals to kH = 0.71-0.41 = 0.30.
! ! ! !
RC ¼ l2 þ l31 þ l32 ð9Þ

and
! ! ! !
RE ¼ l2 þ l51 þ l52 ð10Þ

3 Kinetic Analysis

Forces acting on the mechanism at joints with magnitude and direction change during
the operation of the system. For the system of which the loading PG is located at point
G is shown in Fig. 4. At the lowest position of the platform, G is placed between hinges
A and B, but when the platform raises, point B moves near A while the distance
between A and G is unchanged. This will impact the structure balancing and the force
magnitude acting on the frames. However, most of the recent research of the scissor
systems only bases on creating the concept model to run the simulation but did not
propose appropriate methods to analyze the stability and optimization of the frame
dimensions.

lG PG
B
A
G

PG
Hmax

B
A G
Hmin

Fig. 4. Position of load PG during the operation of the system.

80 A.-T. Dang et al.

Based on the analysis of the kinetic model, the authors continue to use the model in
Fig. 4 to calculate the reaction forces on joints and frames. Because the system is in a
3D model, but the calculation is based on a 2D model, the results after the calculation
will be divided in correspondence with the structure on the 3rd dimensions (the number
of cylinders, the number of scissor frames). Assuming the movement of the platform is
slow enough to neglect the effect of inertia, the weight of the frames in the system,
which is much smaller than the weight of the object, can be ignored. This study mainly
investigates the effect of the weight of loading PG on the frames and pin joints.

Fig. 5. The free-body diagram of the ground frame (CD) and platform (AB).

Release reaction forces at the platform and ground (c.f Fig. 5) and calculate the
magnitude of forces in pins A, B, E, F.

PG :lG
FB ¼ FD ¼ ð11Þ
L
PG :lG
FA ¼ FC ¼ PG PB ¼ PG ð12Þ
L

Release the scissor joint between frame AD and BC (c.f Fig. 6)

 A Study of Scissor Lifts Using Parameter Design 81

Fig. 6. The free-body diagram of frame AD and BC.

Note: Fcyl is the reaction of cylinder acted along the axis of the cylinder, using
equilibrium of moment for AD at center M:

MM ¼ MFA þ MFD þ MFcyl ¼ 0 ð13Þ

MFcyl ¼ jMFD þ MFA j ð14Þ

A c A c A c A c
Fcyl :b: sin / ¼ FA : cos þ FD : cos ¼ ðFA þ FD Þ cos ¼ PG cos ð15Þ
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

PG A2 cos 2c
Fcyl ¼ ð16Þ
b: sin /

The value of sinu can be obtained by the relation equation between angles c and u
from triangular MPQ:

a lxl a:k
¼ ¼ ð17Þ
sin / sin c sin c

sin c
sin / ¼ ð18Þ
k

Substitute into Eq. (16):

PG A2 cos 2c PG k P :k PG :k
Fcyl ¼ ¼ ¼ qGffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ¼ rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
h i ð19Þ
b:a:A: sink c 4:a:b: sin 2c k2
ð1 b Þ 2
4ab: 4b 2a: b k2 ð1 bÞ2
82 A.-T. Dang et al.

Use the vector addition method with forces on frame AD:

! ! ! ! !
FA þ FD þ Fcyl þ FMx þ FMy ¼ 0 ð20Þ

Project these forces on x and y directions:

c PG k c
FMx ¼ Fcyl : cos / þ ¼ c : cos / þ ð21Þ
2 4:a:b: sin 2 2

c PG k c PG :lG
FMy ¼ Fcyl : sin / þ FA þ FD ¼ c : sin / þ PG þ 2: ð22Þ
2 4:a:b: sin 2 2 L

Substitute Eq. (2) to Eq. (22), the angle using parameters can be rewritten as:

c c c c 2 2c b 1 c
cos / þ ¼ cos /: cos sin /: sin ¼ cos cos / sin ¼ : cos
2 2 2 2 k 2 k 2
ð23Þ

c c c c 2 c bþ1 c
sin / þ ¼ cos /: sin þ sin /: cos ¼ sin cos / þ cos2 ¼ : sin
2 2 2 2 k 2 k 2
ð24Þ

Replace to the equation of FMx and FMy:

sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
P G ðb 1 Þ c PG ðb 1Þ ðb þ 1Þ2 k2
FMx ¼ : cot ¼ : ð25Þ
4:a:b: 2 4:a:b: k2 ð1 bÞ2
2 3
6 ðb þ 1 Þ 4lG 7
FMy ¼ PG 4 þ qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi 15 ð26Þ
4:a:b 2 2
A ðb þ 1bÞ k

Total reactions on joint M can be obtained by using the equation:

qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
FM ¼ FMx2 þ F2 ð27Þ
My

To evaluate the accuracy of the proposed method, the Working Model to simulate
the mechanism and measure the reactions at joints is utilized (see Fig. 7). Results from
this process are compared with those obtained by the Eq. (15), (23), and summarized in
Table 2. Results in Table 2 prove the accuracy of the numerical methods in deter-
mining force magnitudes in the system. The maximum difference takes up only 0.2%
because the weight of frames caused a small change in the simulation model.
 A Study of Scissor Lifts Using Parameter Design 83

Fig. 7. Results of the system constructed in Working Model.

Table 2. Results of force between the two methods

A = 10 m a = 0.3; b = 0.3; a = 0.4; b = 0.25; a = 0.5; b = 0.4;
PG = 500 N lG = 0.4 lG = 0.6 lG = 0.5
FA (N) Fcyl(N) FM (N) FA (N) Fcyl(N) FM (N) FA (N) Fcyl(N) FM (N)
k = 0.8 F1 286.2 3142 3101.2 187.4 3591.1 3647.4 224.9 1196.2 1233.4
F2 286.2 3143 3101.7 187.6 3592.1 3648.1 224.8 1195.2 1232.7
D% 0 0 0 0.1 0 0 0 0.1 0.1
k = 1.0 F1 236.3 2131 2153.8 100 1889.8 2144.5 177.3 988.2 1119.1
F2 236.2 2131 2153.8 100 1889.8 2144.5 177.3 988.2 1119.1
D% 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
k = 1.2 F1 61.9 1873 2237.7 356.5 1599.2 2795.7 61.5 912.9 1278.8
F2 61.8 1873 2238.2 357.1 1601.3 2798.8 61.5 912.9 1278.8
D% 0.2 0 0 0.2 0.1 0.1 0 0 0
With F1: Result from Working Model
F2: Result using calculation equation
D ¼ F1 F- F2 :100%: Difference between the two methods
1

It can be seen that in Eq. (15) the factor lG is omitted. This means the position of
loading PG does not affect the magnitude of the force from the cylinder during the
operation. Parameter a < 1 (position of the cylinder on the structure) changes the
magnitude of thrust force in cylinders: smaller cylinder endures bigger forces.
84 A.-T. Dang et al.

Fig. 8. Reaction on pin M and thrust force on cylinder with different variables of b and k (with
constant values of A = 10 m, PG = 500 N, a = 0.5, lG = 0.5)

From the results in Table 2, it can be noticed that the lower the platform is, it
requires bigger force from the cylinder Fcyl to operation, and so does the reaction force
at pin M. Combining the results from Table 1 with those from Table 1, the relationship
between Fcyl and FM according to the increase of height (H) is shown in Fig. 8:
Results from the figure show that the smaller of b can improve the operation of the
system (platform can raise to higher positions) but increase the force in the cylinder.
Even with the small loading of PG = 500 N, the reaction in joint M and thrust force
from cylinder Fcyl for the system to operate are still too big ( 6 times). These forces
will affect the frames in the system, such as causing bending or even breaking the
function of the structure. In some cases, the change of Fcyl (blue line) is so small that it
nearly becomes a constant, making the selection of appropriate cylinders easier.

4 Conclusion
The applicability of the numerical methods using a variable in design lifting devices
using scissor-mechanisms is analyzed in this study. The following conclusions can be
made:
• The propitiate dimensions of the hydraulic cylinder and the whole system can be
purposely selected. The suitable values of the system can enhance the working
effectiveness. The maximum stroke can be up to 80 cm when the frame length and
angle between two lifts are 100 cm and 135° respectively.
 A Study of Scissor Lifts Using Parameter Design 85

• The selection process of a hydraulic cylinder can be executed thanks to the cal-
culated effective loading.
• The proposed method in this study can allow us to establish force equations at the
limiting loaded places on the system. In this way, the design recommendations for
dimension and structure can be made.

Acknowledgments. The authors wish to thank Thai Nguyen University of Technology for
supporting this work.

References
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Technol. 2, 8–15 (2012)
3. Zhang, W., Zhang, C., Zhao, J., Du, C.: A study on the static stability of scissor lift. Open
Mech. Eng. J. 9, 954–960 (2015)
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velocity of the hydrostatic system for scissor lift with fixed displacement pump. Arch. Civ.
Mech. Eng. 19(4), 1104–1115 (2019)
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Mech. Eng. J. 9, 954–960 (2015)
6. Hongyu, T., Ziy, Z.: Design and simulation based on Pro/E for a hydraulic lift platform in
scissors type. Procedia Eng. 16, 772–781 (2011)
7. Dong, Ren G., et al.: An investigation on the dynamic stability of scissor lift. Open J. Saf. Sci.
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 A Study on Prediction of Milling Forces

Do Duc Trung1, Tran Ngoc Giang2, Tran Thi Hong3,

Bui Thanh Danh4, Vu Van Khoa5, Nguyen Dinh Ngoc2,
Nguyen Thanh Tu2, and Vu Ngoc Pi2(&)
1
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering,
Hanoi University of Industry, Hanoi City, Vietnam
2
Thai Nguyen University of Technology, Thai Nguyen City, Vietnam
[email protected]
3
Center of Excellence for Automation and Precision Mechanical Engineering,
Nguyen Tat Thanh University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
4
University of Transport and Communications, Hanoi, Vietnam
5
National Research Institute of Mechanical Engineering, Ha Noi City, Vietnam

Abstract. The aim of this study is to develop a milling force predicting model
which is based on the relation between surface roughness and cutting force
resulting from surface milling. Based on the analysis of the available models, the
roughness model which has more advantages than others is selected. The newly
proposed milling force model is developed based on the roughness model. Eight
influential parameters are included in the model such as cutting edge radius, feed
rate, side cutting edge angle, end cutting edge angle, radial depth of cut, axial
depth of cut, tool diameters and number of cutting edge. Experimental tests by
milling C45 steels are conducted to validate the predicted results as well as the
realiability of the model. The results show that the maximum percentage errors
between prediction and experiments is an average of 16.7%.

Keywords: Milling operation Surface roughness Milling force Surface

milling

1 Introduction

Milling is one of the most important machining processes to cut redundant materials for
getting the final shapes. This process is able to machine various geometries of work-
piece. Cutting forces of milling process are typically selected as a representative
reflecting the degree of the energy consume (or cutting capacity) [1–5]. Minimizing
milling forces has been carried out by research community so far. Most of available
studies have been dealing with exploring the influence of machining parameters on the
milling forces.
Hoang T.D et al. [6] when conducting milling of SKD61 steels revealed that cutting
force values increase with increasing in depth of cut and feed rate. Jhy-Cherng T et al.
[7] performed milling process of Inconel 718 using face mill cutter using the hard alloy
cut piece coating TiAlN. It was said that spindle speed, federate per cutting, and edge
depth of cut have crucial influence on the cutting forces in which the first two
parameters are more important. However, the effect of depth of cut was minor. This

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021

K.-U. Sattler et al. (Eds.): ICERA 2020, LNNS 178, pp. 86–93, 2021.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64719-3_11

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