Concrete
Industrial Services
Slitter Line & Leveler/Straightener Foundations
These complex foundations require special attention and engineering because of how heavy they are and the work they accomplish. 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. They are often deeper than the water table thus also requiring a dewatering system.
Press Foundations
Whether they are stamping presses or forging presses, press foundations can greatly vary in size greatly. Larger press foundations have a concrete pit that the base of the press sits in. Because of the large dynamic loads of these presses, the foundations have thick concrete bases, walls, and pedestals for the press to bear on. There are commonly large steel weldments that are embedded in the concrete. Today many presses are installed with isolation material, pads, and/or bearings which dampen the presses dynamic loads. This needs to be taken into consideration in the design of the foundation.
The large concrete base is there to transfer the loads into the soils below. A soils investigation report prepared by analyzing borings of the soil is necessary to properly determine the strength of the soils below the concrete base. The pits for these presses usually require an earth retention system which is designed to take into consideration the surrounding building foundation loads.
Tube Mills, Bar Lines, Steel Processing Line Foundations
We have extensive experience 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 construction has the personnel with the experience to perform this kind of layout.
Because of the heavy electrical demand of the equipment there are large electrical conduit runs that are required to be coordinated with the construction of the foundations. Proper coordination with the other trades (electrical, hydraulic piping, equipment installation, etc.) involved in the construction are critical to project 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.
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