About possiblity of having elevated or hanging industrial construction

Replies

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  Lock-Os

  I don't see why not. I mean, put enough support up for something and you can lit it up.
  
  However, when you hang something on cables, you are kinda floating without any kind of steady base, you can't really make anything accurate since all the tools will be rotating and swinging about. The best way to solve this is to use the tools directly attached to the frame of a gantry crane or something like that to move around above the work.
  
  So basically that seems to be the trade off. Hanging the tools at the cost of precision.
• 

  frodo.rok

  Lock-Os

  I don't see why not. I mean, put enough support up for something and you can lit it up.
  
  However, when you hang something on cables, you are kinda floating without any kind of steady base, you can't really make anything accurate since all the tools will be rotating and swinging about. The best way to solve this is to use the tools directly attached to the frame of a gantry crane or something like that to move around above the work.
  
  So basically that seems to be the trade off. Hanging the tools at the cost of precision.

  Thanks Lock-Os
  
  So if this is possible then we can solve the problem faced by industries and Govt. in accusation of land for heavy industries.
  What do you say?
• 

  Lock-Os

  Ah, well, it depends. You might be able to save some space by putting the heavy machinery at the bottom floor and then put the more mobile, lighter machines at the top. That might save some space, and hopefully the smaller machines could take care of the work first and then use gravity to move the work downwards from stage to stage via elevators.
  
  Like I said though, most heavy machines need a good sturdy mount so they don't flail about when you use them. So unless you use heavy supports and concrete floors you probably won't be able to mount them very well.
  
  If you are really desperate for space, try building into a mountain or hill, depending on the soil and rock, you might be able to use it for support or some other kind of control, although in that set up safety would be a major concern to prevent people getting trapped.
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  Ashraf HZ

  Hm, maybe you can attach the machines to huge helium balloons or blimps? I guess you can anchor them when you need to do some precision drilling or whatsoever.
  
  But of course, helium is quite expensive. For a 10ft balloon, my CanSat group had to fork out nearly $300 just for the gas 😛
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  sauravgoswami

  Nice ideas,but how much load it can carry???will it be easily upgraded???can it provide easy transportation???and how much miantenance you require???
• 

  Lock-Os

  I'm a bit hesitant to put anything like a whole steel mill up, but I can't see why a machine shop can't make it up, or at least a basic one.
  
  Depending on how desperate you are, you can try to put parts of the factory in space. Truth is, a lot of chemical processes that require crystal growing work a whole lot better in space. So you could actually get a better product in orbit than on the ground.
  
  Also, for those earth-bound, a lot of space seems to get wasted in strip-mining. It might be possible to use the depleted sections of the mine as factory space and save on materials shipping cost at the same time.
• 

  Ashraf HZ

  Lock-Os

  Depending on how desperate you are, you can try to put parts of the factory in space. Truth is, a lot of chemical processes that require crystal growing work a whole lot better in space. So you could actually get a better product in orbit than on the ground.

  That is the ideal case, though zero-gravity production in space is still in its research infancy. It will take a long time before it is economically viable, and products that benefit from this would likely be low volume, small scale and highly specialized (as opposed to heavy industry).
  
  Regarding blimps or balloons, you can lift quite heavy loads.. but the balloon sizes would need to be large. It would be ok if you want to statically hold something in the air for a week before the pressure of the balloon decreases.
  
  However, if you combine blimps and helicopters, you can get something more viable. One great example is Boeing's JHL-40:
  #-Link-Snipped-#
  
  Can transport 80,000 pounds (or 36 tonnes) over 200 miles!
  😀
• 

  Lock-Os

  That sounds plausible, although anything with helicopters doesn't seem cheap either. Although maybe it could work if you attach a helium pipeline to the balloon and used self-sealing balloons of some kind to keep them inflated and secure over the long term.
  
  Come to think about it, you could also put wind generators up their to help power the unit, as well as solar. Come to think about it, you could do a lot of things in a balloon, safety would be a concern, and wind acting on it would be a problem in sea-side areas, but that depends on a lot of things.
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  sauravgoswami

  remember hindelberg,a industrial unit has to be safe also,no matter ebven if its a machine shop!!!...apart from balloons I think if we equip the unit having its own floating mechanism it will be more practical and viable
• 

  Ashraf HZ

  sauravgoswami

  remember hindelberg,a industrial unit has to be safe also,no matter ebven if its a machine shop!!!...apart from balloons I think if we equip the unit having its own floating mechanism it will be more practical and viable

  The hindenburg used hydrogen gas. They would have used helium, but non-German forces at the time had most of the control of global Helium supplies 😉
  
  The helium pipeline would be a good idea!
  
  You are spot on with wind generators, Lock-Os. The most efficient wind turbines are the tall ones as there are stronger winds higher up. The only hindrance was because you need to build really tall towers, which is not a visually pleasant sight. But, with an airborne wind turbine at higher altitude, you'll have access to the strong wind streams.
• 

  gohm

  Correct. Also the main cause of the accident was not because of the gas, but of the fabric coating that was used.
  
  

  ash

  The hindenburg used hydrogen gas. They would have used helium, but non-German forces at the time had most of the control of global Helium supplies 😉
  
  The helium pipeline would be a good idea!
  
  You are spot on with wind generators, Lock-Os. The most efficient wind turbines are the tall ones as there are stronger winds higher up. The only hindrance was because you need to build really tall towers, which is not a visually pleasant sight. But, with an airborne wind turbine at higher altitude, you'll have access to the strong wind streams.

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  Ashraf HZ

  As a floating mechanism, balloons would be the most economical choice. A hybrid one thats combined with propellers would help with greater loads, though as Lock-Os said, it may increase costs.
  
  I was thinking, if we place a propeller facing directly at the winds, could it be coupled to another propeller perpendicular to it so it can provide some lift?
• 

  gohm

  I am curious as to the conditions creating this senario? How would this system compare to using expanding tracks up the structural support members?