MecaLug Software
All structural design is important but verifying that the lifting lugs are adequate to lift a piece of
heavy equipment may be one of the most import things an Engineer can design. The failure of
a lifting lug could very likely put human life in danger in the event of a failure. Imagine being on
site during an important lift, as an Engineer you want the piece of mind to know that those
lifting lugs you designed will DEFINITELY lift the equipment safely. Therefore, Meca has
developed the MecaLug Software, which is an easy to use software package to design lifting
lugs.
The program was developed with the flexibility to handle the design of a single lug where you
know the loads acting on the lug, or it allows you to analyze common systems in which you
need to determine the loads acting on each lifting sling.
Design Standard: The MecaLug Program follows the ASME BTH-1 “Design of Below–The-Hook
Lifting Devices.” This is a widely used design standard for designing lifting devices and provides
a solid reference that the designer can use with confidence to produce a safe design.
MecaLug Software comes in two different versions of the Lifting Lug Design. There is a
Standard (Std) and a Pro version. Both the Standard and Pro versions of the MecaLug will allow
the user to design a single lifting lug. The User has a variety of different lug configurations that
can be chosen to suit their specific needs. There are countless different lifting lugs used by
companies and so it’s not feasible to include every possibility, however we have focused on the
most common types of lugs that are used industry wide:
When modeling the lifting lug the user specifies the following:
Lug Geometry
Cheek Plate Dimensions (if applicable)
Attachment Dimensions (if applicable)
Shackle Selection
Material Properties
Loads acting in the X, Y, and Z direction on the lug. (multiple load cases may be entered)
The user can quickly determine Pass vs Fail by using our simple system where Green is Passing
and Red is Failing. You can quickly survey the output and determine the problematic areas.
After the design is final, you can then pick and choose which information will be used in the
final report. Our output system is the same in all of our software packages.
Cylindrical Shells:
There are lifting lugs attached to structures and lifting lugs attached to cylindrical shells in a few different configurations.
In the case of lugs attached to cylindrical shells the local stresses from the lug acting on the cylindrical shell are of
concern. MecaLug adopts the use of ring analysis as well as local stress per WRC 537 (also known as WRC 107) to
calculate the local stesses on the cylindrical shell.
As the data for the lifting lug or system is entered, a 3-
dimensional representation is shown on the screen based upon
the user entered parameters. This gives a quick check of all
values entered to make sure they look correct.
Lifting System Analysis (Pro Version Only):
When you have 2 or more lifting points, finding the load acting
on each lifting sling can be challenging. This is where the Pro
version of MecaLug can make life simpler. It allows you to pick
one of several standard lifting systems, and then simply enter
the dimensions that are appropriate for your situation.
The user gets a
report with the same
easy to understand
system where Green
is Passing and Red is
Failing. The output
has a complete
summary of the
loads in each cable,
at each crane point
and acting on the
lugs. The user may
then choose what
output is to be
included in the final
report, just as it was
done with the single
Lug Analysis.
Stack/Vessel Lifting:
There are special problems that occur when a stack, vessel or tower are lifted. The structures usually start in the
horizontal position, and then they are rotated 90 degrees to the vertical position. MecaLug has provisions to analyze the
structure at each increment of the lift, and calculate the loads acting on the Lifting Lugs, trunnions or tailing lugs at each
of these increments. This will allow the designer to quickly determine which angle is most severe for the lifting.
Feature MecaLug Std MecaLug Pro
Single Lifting Lug
Analysis
Lug Shackle Checks
ASME BTH-1
Calculations
Lifting Trunnion
Analysis
Complete Lifting
System
Calculate Crane
Reactions
Calculate Cable
Loads
Please Email us at support@meca.biz for your custom quote
