Neometrix / Aircraft Ground Support Equipment / Engine Installation Trolley / NMX-EIT-96

NMX-EIT-96 · ENGINEERED-TO-ORDER CLASS — DUTY · CRADLE · LIFT · ADJUSTMENT · BUILD · PROVE

Engine Installation Trolley. Let the bolts line up.

Name: Engine Installation Trolley
Brand: Neometrix
SKU: NMX-EIT-96

An aircraft engine installation trolley carries an engine from the stand to the aircraft, lifts it to the bay, and holds it while it is bolted on. Neometrix engineers it as a system around the engine and the aircraft: the cradle, the lift, the fine adjustment, the frame and the proof.

So the trolley has to carry the engine by the points its maker names, bring it to the mounts square, one axis at a time, and hold its full weight until the bolts line up.

Discuss an engine trolley Capability note (PDF)

An aircraft engine installation trolley on a plain white studio background: a low wide pale grey tubular steel frame on four black wheels with a long push handle, two bright steel lift columns carrying a cradle with two curved supports, a plain unmarked grey turbine engine resting in the cradle with a bright flange ring and two lifting lugs on top, two slides with black hand wheels below the cradle, a black hand pump lever at the foot of one column, and no people

Fig · 01 — An engine installation trolley: a low wheeled frame, lift columns carrying a cradle with the engine, and slides with hand wheels below it for fine adjustment — illustrative render.

The result

an engine on its mountswith the bolts in free, and not pulled

The carrying

by the maker's pointsbalanced over the engine's centre of gravity

The alignment

one axis at a timefine, and held where it is set

The protection

covered and clearopenings closed, and clearances watched

Status

engineered to orderno delivered trolley claimed

ISO 9001ISO 14001ISO 12100 reference for machinery safety

Overview

What an installation trolley has to get right, and what goes wrong when it does not.

Because the engine is heavy and awkward, and the closing steps of fitting it are where it can strike the structure around it.

The cradle and fine adjustment of an engine installation trolley on a plain white studio background: two curved pale grey cradle supports lined with black rubber, each with a bright locating pin, a stack of bright steel slides below them with black hand wheels on bright threaded screws, a bright steel lift column with a small hydraulic cylinder and a black pump lever, on a plain pale grey base plate, and no people

Fig · 02 — The cradle and the adjusters: curved supports lined with rubber and fitted with locating pins, slides stacked one on another, hand wheels on screws, and the lift column with its pump — illustrative render.

Let the bolts line up.

What the trolley is for

It moves an engine between the store, the shop and the aircraft. It lifts the engine to the bay, brings it to the mounts, and holds it while it is bolted on. It takes an engine out by the same steps in reverse.

Why it carries the engine by its maker's points

An engine is lifted only where its maker says. The cradle takes the weight at those points. A sling or a cradle has to sit over the engine's centre of gravity, or the engine tips and can be damaged.

Why the trolley holds the weight while the bolts line up

While the nuts are tightened, the lift supports the engine's weight so that the mounting bolts can line up. If the engine presses up or down on the bolts, the nuts have to pull it into line. They are then loaded, but they do not hold the engine securely.

Why the trolley adjusts in six ways

An engine can be out of place in six ways: up or down, left or right, forward or back, tilted nose up or down, rolled, or turned. Each is corrected on its own, so that one correction does not undo another.

Why the engine is steadied

An engine on a trolley is a large mass that swings and shifts when it is moved. So it is steadied while it moves, the wheels are braked before it is lifted, and the frame is low and wide.

Why the openings are covered

Lines are plugged as they are disconnected, and the inlet and the exhaust are covered, so that no foreign material gets in. The covers and plugs ride on the trolley until they are needed.

Why the engine is guided in

The engine passes close to the structure, the ducts and the fittings of the bay. So the path is checked first, and the engine goes in slowly, with the clearances watched at every move.

Why the transport mounts matter

On the move an engine rides on shock-absorbing mounts. They are inspected for age and for any loss of bonding to their plates.

The method

Duty, cradle, lift, adjustment, build and prove.

Six steps in a fixed order. The adjustment and the proof are the two that a quick job skips.

1 · Duty

The engine types, their mounts and lift points, the centre of gravity, the aircraft bay and its access, and the ground the trolley is wheeled over are noted from the engine maker's documents.

2 · Cradle

The cradle takes the engine at the points its maker names, with locating pins at the mounts, and its position can be set over the centre of gravity.

3 · Lift

The lift raises the engine smoothly and holds it without creep. A hand pump, or an electric drive from a battery, is chosen for the place of use.

4 · Adjustment

Slides, screws and tilts give each of the six movements on its own, fine enough to bring the mounts square, and each is locked where it is set.

5 · Build

The frame is low and wide, with brakes, castors and a steering handle, and it is built with a place for the covers, the plugs and the pins.

6 · Prove

The lift and the cradle are load tested with a mass that stands in for the engine, the adjustment is tried in a mock-up of the bay, and the record goes with the trolley.

Which hazard, which safeguard

What can go wrong	Why it happens	What the trolley does about it
The engine is lifted off balance	the support is not over the centre of gravity	a cradle taking the engine at its maker's points, with a position that can be set over the centre of gravity
The nuts have to pull the engine into place	the engine is a little out of line when the bolts go in	fine adjustment in every axis, and a lift that holds the full weight until the bolts line up
The engine swings or shifts on the move	it is moved fast, or on rough ground	a low, wide frame, braked castors, restraint at the engine mounts, and a slow, steadied move
Something is struck on the way in	the engine passes close to the structure and the ducts	a path checked first, a slow approach, and clearances watched at every move
Dirt or loose parts get into the engine	lines and openings are left open	plugs and covers that ride on the trolley, and a place on the frame for each
The trolley tips or rolls	the weight is high, or the brakes are off	a low frame, a wide stance, brakes that are set before the lift, and levelling feet in the work position

The step people underrate is the fine adjustment. A lift that goes up and down can carry an engine to the aircraft. Only fine adjustment lets the bolts line up.

Work content

What the trolley contains, element by element.

Read it as a checklist: a trolley missing a row will carry an engine, but it will not let the bolts line up.

A low engine transport stand on a plain white studio background: a pale grey rectangular tubular steel frame on four black castors with a push handle, two shock-absorbing mounts with plain black rubber blocks and bright pins, a plain unmarked grey turbine engine held on the mounts by two bright steel straps, a plain round cover at each end of the engine, and no people

Fig · 03 — A transport stand: a low frame on braked castors, two shock-absorbing mounts, the engine held by straps, and covers on the inlet and the exhaust — illustrative render.

Element	What it does	What matters
Cradle and supports	carry the engine	supports that take the engine at the points its maker names, locating pins at the mounts, and a position that can be set over the centre of gravity
Lift	raises and lowers	a smooth lift that holds its height without creep, lowers under control, and has a manual lowering that works if the power is lost
Fine adjustment	brings the mounts square	slides, screws and tilts for each of the six movements, each locked where it is set, and fine enough to line the bolts up
Frame, castors and brakes	carry the load	a low, wide frame, castors that can be braked, a steering handle, and levelling feet for the work position
Power	drives the lift	a hand pump or an electric drive from a battery, chosen for the place of use
Restraint	holds the engine	straps or pins at the engine's mounts, so that the engine cannot shift on the move
Alignment aids	help the fitter	guides or pins that show the mounts coming into line, and marks that can be read from the working position
Covers and plugs	keep foreign matter out	covers for the inlet and the exhaust, plugs for the lines, and a place for each on the frame
Stowage	keeps the kit with the trolley	places for slings, pins, bolts and the maker's tools, so that nothing is lost between jobs
Transport mounts	protect the engine on the move	shock-absorbing mounts that are inspected for age and for any loss of bonding to their plates
Testing & documentation	prove the trolley first	a load test of the lift and the cradle, an alignment trial, and a record the customer can inspect

The elements that decide the result are the fine adjustment and the cradle position. The first brings the mounts to the bolts, and the second keeps the engine balanced on the way.

Full specification — expand

System	A low, wide wheeled frame with brakes and a steering handle; a cradle with supports that take the engine at the points its maker names, locating pins at the mounts, and a position that can be set over the centre of gravity; a lift with a hand pump or an electric drive; slides, screws and tilts that give each of the six movements on its own, locked where they are set; restraints at the engine mounts; covers and plugs stowed on the frame; and load testing and documentation before handover
The One Idea	Let the bolts line up.
Why The Trolley Holds The Weight	While the nuts are tightened, the lift supports the engine's weight so that the mounting bolts can line up; if the engine presses up or down on the bolts, the nuts have to pull it into line and end up loaded without holding the engine securely
Why Six Movements	An engine can be out of place in six ways: up or down, left or right, forward or back, tilted nose up or down, rolled, or turned; each is corrected on its own so that one correction does not undo another
Standards	ISO 12100 covers the general principles of design, risk assessment and risk reduction for machinery. This page prints none of its requirements, and no edition year. The engine maker's own procedure governs how the engine is handled and fitted. Approval of a trolley rests with the customer and the authority they name; none is claimed here
Configurations	An installation trolley, a transport stand, and a quick-change power-unit trolley
Scope Boundary	This page is the engine installation trolley, which carries an engine and fits it to the aircraft. It is not a pre-heating trolley, which warms an engine's oil before a start (see aircraft engine preheating trolley), not a towbar or a tug, which moves a whole aircraft (see aircraft towbar and towbarless tug) and not the hydraulic lifting package of a multipurpose installation trolley, which raises heavy aircraft aggregates by hand pump (see multipurpose installation trolley). It does not decide the engine maker's procedure, and it does not replace the fitter's own judgement. No certification or accreditation is claimed here
Status	Neometrix engineers aircraft engine installation trolleys to order, and no delivered aircraft engine installation trolley is claimed.

Configurations

One method, three ways to build the trolley.

The method, the safety design, the cradle logic and the proof are shared. What changes is what the trolley has to do with the engine, and where.

Installation trolley

A lift, a cradle and fine adjustment in every axis, to fit the engine to the aircraft

For the engine change itself: the engine is lifted to the bay, brought to the mounts square, and held at its full weight until the bolts line up.

Transport stand

A low frame on braked castors, with shock-absorbing mounts and straps, to move the engine

For moving an engine between the store, the shop and the aircraft: held at its mounts, steadied on the move, and covered at the inlet and the exhaust.

Quick-change power-unit trolley

A trolley that carries the engine with its fittings fitted, so that the whole unit is changed at once

For an aircraft built to change the engine with its fittings as one unit: a cradle made for that unit, and an adjustment fine enough to bring all its mounts into line together.

And the part that is not equipment at all, yet decides all three: the duty and the handling plan. They are written from the customer's own engine, aircraft and bay, not from the trolley.

The drawings

A reference set, drawn as real CAD sheets.

Two sheets of one reference configuration: the hydraulic lift circuit of an aircraft engine installation trolley, and its general arrangement with three details. They show the pump, the relief and load-holding valves, the lift cylinders, the lowering valve, the trolley in elevation and plan, the six movements, the bolt that goes in free and the support over the centre of gravity. They carry tags and letters only. Every weight, size, capacity, force and quantity is fixed by design for the customer's duty.

Reference drawing sheet one, the hydraulic lift circuit of an aircraft engine installation trolley. A hand pump with an optional electric drive takes fluid from a reservoir through a strainer and non-return valves to a pressure line with a relief valve and a gauge. A load-holding non-return valve, a lowering needle valve and two lift cylinders follow. A legend, a table of what each step does, seven notes and a title block stamped reference configuration, not for construction

Fig · 04 — Sheet 01, the hydraulic lift circuit: a hand pump with an optional electric drive, a relief valve, a gauge, a load-holding valve, two lift cylinders and a lowering needle valve, in the style of the graphical symbols of fluid power. Reference configuration, tags only.

Reference drawing sheet two, the general arrangement and details of an aircraft engine installation trolley. An elevation shows the frame on its castors, the steering handle, two lift columns, two slides with a hand wheel, the cradle with two supports and locating pins, the hand pump, and an engine shown for reference. A plan shows the columns, the supports and a hand wheel. An item list numbers ten parts. Detail A shows the six movements, Detail B the bolt going in free while the lift holds the weight, and Detail C the cradle set over the centre of gravity. A title block stamped reference configuration, not for construction

Fig · 05 — Sheet 02, the general arrangement and details: the trolley in elevation and plan, the six movements, the bolt that goes in free and the support over the centre of gravity. Reference configuration, letters only.

Every real trolley is drawn for its own engine, its own aircraft and its own duty. These sheets are the arrangement and the order of working that a project set starts from. The engine maker's own procedure governs how the engine is handled and fitted. Approval of any drawing rests with the customer and the authority they name; none is claimed here.

PDF · two sheets

Reference drawings — schematic and arrangement

PDF · capability sheet

Engine installation trolley — what Neometrix engineers

Where it is used

Wherever an engine is fitted or moved, and the bolts have to line up.

The common thread is a heavy engine, a bay with little room, and a fitting that has to be done without a knock.

Flight-line engine changes

Where an engine is changed at the aircraft, in the open or under a shelter, and the trolley is wheeled to the work.

Maintenance hangars

Where engines are changed during heavy maintenance, and one trolley serves many aircraft.

Engine shops and stores

Where engines are moved between the store, the test cell and the shop, and each is held at its mounts.

Training and practice

Where fitters learn the change on a mass that stands in for an engine, before they handle a real one.

Watch

See it in motion.

A short walkthrough video of the Engine Installation Trolley.

FAQ

Common questions.

Longer answers, for readers who want the reasoning.

Q · 01 What does an aircraft engine installation trolley actually do?

It carries an engine to the aircraft, lifts it to the bay, brings it to the mounts, and holds it while it is bolted on. It takes an engine out by the same steps in reverse. The cradle takes the weight at the points the engine maker names. A lift raises the engine, and slides, screws and tilts bring it square, one movement at a time. Covers and plugs keep foreign material out, and a low frame on braked castors keeps the trolley stable. The trolley does not decide how the engine is fitted. That comes from the engine maker's own procedure, and the trolley is built, set and proved to carry it out.

Q · 02 Why is the engine carried only by the points its maker names?

Because the engine was designed to take its weight at those points and nowhere else. The pipes, the accessories and the casing are not made to carry it. The maker also says where the engine balances. A sling or a cradle has to be set over that centre of gravity, or the engine tips as it is lifted and can be damaged. So the cradle of the trolley takes the engine at the named points, with locating pins at the mounts, and its position can be set over the centre of gravity for each engine it carries.

Q · 03 Why must the trolley hold the weight until the bolts line up?

Because of what the nuts would otherwise have to do. If the engine is allowed to press up or down on the mounting bolts, the nuts have to pull it into line as they are tightened. They end up loaded, but they are not holding the engine securely to the aircraft. So the lift supports the engine's weight while the nuts are tightened, and the bolts are allowed to line up on their own. That is why the fine adjustment matters as much as the lift. A lift that carries the engine to the bay is not enough. The mounts have to be brought square first, and then the bolts go in free.

Q · 04 Why does the trolley need to adjust in six ways?

Because a solid body can be out of place in six ways. The engine can be too high or too low, too far to the left or the right, too far forward or back, tilted nose up or down, rolled to one side, or turned. If one control moved several of these at once, a fitter who corrected one error would create another. So each movement has its own slide, screw or tilt, and each is locked where it is set. The adjusters are fine, so that the last movements are small, and the fitter can read the position from where the work is done.

Q · 05 Is this the same as a pre-heating trolley, a tug or a multipurpose installation trolley?

No, and the differences are worth stating precisely. The aircraft engine preheating trolley page covers warming an engine's oil before a start. The aircraft towbar and towbarless tug page covers moving a whole aircraft. The multipurpose installation trolley page covers the hydraulic lifting package of a trolley for heavy aircraft aggregates. This page is the engine installation trolley, which carries an engine and fits it to the aircraft. It does not replace any of them, and it does not claim what they claim a second time.

Q · 06 Has Neometrix built one of these?

We would rather answer this plainly than let a page imply otherwise. Neometrix engineers aircraft engine installation trolleys to order, and no delivered aircraft engine installation trolley is claimed. What stands behind the offer is adjacent: the hydraulic lifting package of a multipurpose aircraft installation trolley was delivered, new-built to Neometrix drawings (see the multipurpose installation trolley page), and Neometrix engineers an engine pre-heating trolley (see the aircraft engine preheating trolley page), a towbar and a towbarless tug (see the aircraft towbar and towbarless tug page). The pumps, cylinders, castors, screws, slides, straps and covers are catalogue items, bought in, not invented. What Neometrix engineers is the trolley around them: the cradle, the lift, the adjustment, the frame, the covers and the proof. So the honest position is that the trolley is engineered to order, the neighbouring disciplines are in the building, and the first trolley of this exact kind will be built around the customer's own engine, aircraft and bay rather than taken off a shelf.

Q · 07 Which standard applies, and what can the trolley not do?

ISO 12100 covers the general principles of design, risk assessment and risk reduction for machinery. This page prints none of its requirements, and no edition year: those come from the standard the customer names. The engine maker's own procedure governs how the engine is handled and fitted, and the trolley is built to carry that procedure out. The trolley carries and fits the engine. It does not decide the engine maker's procedure, it does not make an engine safe to handle that the maker has not cleared, and it does not replace the fitter's own judgement. This page claims no certification or accreditation. No weight, size, capacity, force or quantity figure is printed here, and approval of a trolley rests with the customer and the authority they name; none is claimed here.

Q · 08 What do you need from us to quote?

Six things, and most of them describe your engine and aircraft rather than the trolley. First, the engine: the type, and the maker's handling documents with the lift points and the centre of gravity. Second, the aircraft: the bay, its access and the mounts. Third, the work: whether the trolley fits, transports, or both. Fourth, the place: the ground it is wheeled over, indoors or outdoors, and where it is stored. Fifth, the power: whether a hand pump or an electric drive from a battery suits the site. Sixth, the use: how often an engine is changed, and by whom. From that we come back with a trolley concept, a test plan you can check, and a budgetary price.

The neighbouring pages, and how they differ from this one.

Three neighbours: one warms the engine, one moves the aircraft, one lifts heavy aggregates by hand pump.

↗ The pre-heater

Aircraft Engine Preheating Trolley

Warms an engine's oil before a start - where this page carries the engine and fits it to the aircraft.

↗ The tug

Aircraft Towbar and Towbarless Tug

Moves a whole aircraft on the ground - a different job from carrying one engine to a bay.

↗ The lifting package

Multipurpose Installation Trolley

The hydraulic lifting package of a trolley for heavy aircraft aggregates - where this page carries an engine, on a cradle with fine adjustment.

Browse all Neometrix product lines.

Get a quotation

Tell us the engine,
and the bay it has to fit.

The projects desk replies within two working days with a trolley concept, a test plan you can check, and a budgetary quotation. Write to [email protected] or use the form.

Enquire — engine trolley Capability sheet (PDF) +91 7777 876 876

ISO 9001 / 14001 ENGINEERED-TO-ORDER CLASS — ENGINE INSTALLATION TROLLEY DUTY · CRADLE · LIFT · ADJUSTMENT · BUILD · PROVE — LET THE BOLTS LINE UP. ENGINEERED IN NOIDA · INDIA