Industrial Press Foundations
Heavy industrial concrete projects usually involve large equipment foundations which often have deep excavated pits. Raffin Construction has the experience and expertise to design and build these large, deep, and complicated foundations while meeting demanding production schedules. We work in your plant’s production environment and operate to minimize interruptions.
Heavy industrial equipment foundations can vary greatly in size and complexity. Larger press foundations have a concrete pit in which the base of the press sits. These presses have large dynamic loads, so the foundations are designed to have thick concrete bases, walls, and pedestals for the press to bear on. Large steel weldments are commonly embedded in the concrete. Additionally, many presses are installed with isolation material, pads, and/or bearings which dampen the presses dynamic loads. These all need to be taken into consideration when designing press foundations.
For all press foundations, the large concrete base serves to transfer the press loads into the soils below. Therefore, a soils investigation report is necessary and is prepared by analyzing soil borings. The pits for press foundations are deep enough that they usually require an earth retention system which must be designed to take into consideration the surrounding building foundation loads. The experts at Raffin Construction can help you understand all the requirements and details to properly design and construct your concrete press foundation.
Slitter Line and Leveler/Straightener Foundations
These complex foundations require special attention and engineering because of how heavy the equipment is and the work the equipment accomplishes. Slitter line foundations support the machinery that slits larger steel coils into narrower coils for further steel processing. These foundations commonly have a looping pit which varies in depth from 10’ to 40’ deep depending on the size of the slitter and the thickness of the material that is being slit.
The pits can be very complex to construct. They require an earth retention system or another construction method to deal with the soil retention during construction. They are also often deeper than the water table, which means they require a specially designed dewatering system. Raffin has extensive experience designing and constructing concrete foundations for slitter lines. Our concrete expertise combined with our industry knowledge and experience make us the right choice to construct your slitter line foundation.
Tube Mills, Bar Lines, Steel Processing Line Foundations
Raffin has extensive experience designing and constructing foundations for tube mills, bar mills, runout and bundling lines, and many other heavy industrial equipment foundations. All these concrete foundations involve complex geometry with multiple elevation changes. They typically require the installation of heavy steel embedments, large anchor bolts, cooling pits, and trenches. Accuracy and precision are essential when setting these items. Raffin has the personnel with the experience to perform this kind of layout.
Because of the heavy electrical demand of this type of equipment, the design and construction of these foundations must accommodate large electrical conduit runs. Proper coordination with the other trades involved in the construction (electrical, hydraulic piping, equipment installation, etc.) is critical to the project’s success.
When installing a new press in your facility, it’s important to choose a contractor with specific experience designing and constructing these types of heavy equipment foundations. Raffin has engineers on staff who are experienced in designing these types of foundations. Our team can provide a turnkey solution to your press foundation project.