THE CAROLINA STATES SUPPLEMENT
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Vol. XXII • No. 22
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“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded in 1957.” Your Carolina States Connection • Richard McKeon, Charlotte, NC 1-800-288-4234
Massive Press Journeys From Germany to North Carolina By Mary Reed CEG CORRESPONDENT
When ATI-Allvac purchased a new open-die forging press from SMS-Meer GmbH it requested the assistance of AME Inc. to assemble the press and to assist with transportation efforts. After a long journey and an extraordinarily difficult operation, ATI-Allvac’s open-die stamping press arrived from Germany at its destination in North Carolina having traveled by sea, rail and multi-line super-trailers. AME Inc., headquartered in Fort Mill, S.C., was responsible for the transfer of the press from its U.S. port of arrival to its destination, as well as the subsequent assembly of both the press and associated material handling equipment. The sheer size of the major components of the press, which will be used for hot forging military grade and aerospace metals, are noteworthy and give an indication of the difficulties faced in transporting such pieces. The approximate weights of the major parts of the press were:
Due to the size and weights of the crossheads, they could not be transported out of Charleston on super-load trucks, but instead had to be rolled 90 degrees onto their sides and loaded onto suitable rail cars.
In Monroe, the pieces were set atop multi-line super-trailers for the trip from the rail unloading site to the installation facility.
• Lower Crosshead — 400,000 lbs. (181,436 kg) • Middle Crosshead — 480,000 lbs. (217,724 kg) • Upper Crosshead — 565,000 lbs. (256,279 kg) • 4 Column Assemblies — 150,000 lbs. (68,038 kg) each • 3 Main Cylinders — 130,000 lbs. (58,967 kg) each • 2 Return Cylinders — 60,000 lbs. (27,215 kg) each Due to the massive sizes of the castings and the delivery schedule, press manufacturer SMS Meer GmbH utilized the services of First Alpine in Austria and Sheffield Forgemasters in England, to forge the crossheads, as they were the only two companies capable of single-casting such large pieces. The logistics for the American part of the operation were staggering. AME Inc. spent more than a year pre-planning the installation, including trips to Germany to consult with SMS Meer on changing the installation sequence and plans. see PRESS page 2
Page 2 • November 4, 2009 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • North & South Carolina State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide
AME Assembles Huge Die Press in Completed Building PRESS from page 1
The initial plans called for the press to be assembled inside an incomplete or roofless building due to its size, but Jason Walker, senior project manager of AME Inc., produced detailed lift plans demonstrating that the press could be assembled in a completed building. As a result, AME Inc. was single sourced by ATI-Allvac to turnkey complete the installation of the press. Needless to say, handling the press components from the delivery vessels in Charleston, S.C., and transporting them to their destination in Monroe, N.C., was a massive undertaking. Due to the size and weights of the crossheads, they could not be transported out of Charleston on super-load trucks, but instead had to be rolled 90 degrees onto their sides at dock-side and loaded onto suitable rail cars. This process had to be reversed when the rail cars arrived in Monroe, at which point the pieces were set atop multi-line super-trailers for the journey from the rail unloading site to the installation facility. “We utilized a 600-ton barge crane to unload the major pieces and then used the barge crane and a 500-ton gantry system to rotate each of the large pieces 90 degrees onto their sides to achieve a maximum length, width and height of 26 feet, 10 feet by 17 feet respectively,” Walker explained. “They see PRESS page 6
A number of massive cranes, working in tandem with 500-ton (453 t) gantry systems were used to load and onload the largest pieces of the die press.
The middle crosshead piece, weighing 480,000 lbs. (217,724 kg), being maneuvered into place for another part of its long journey.
The lower crosshead piece ready for installation.
Construction Equipment Guide • North & South Carolina State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • November 4, 2009 • Page 3
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Page 4 • November 4, 2009 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • North & South Carolina State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide
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Construction Equipment Guide • North & South Carolina State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • November 4, 2009 • Page 5
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Page 6 • November 4, 2009 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • North & South Carolina State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide
Cranes Assist With Loading, Unloading Unwieldy Die Press PRESS from page 2
were then loaded onto a suitable rail car, and once aboard we welded a series of pre-engineered 1and-one-quarter inch plate steel gussets to the rail cars and each piece, securing the pieces for transport by CSX from Charleston to Monroe. “In Monroe we used a 500- ton gantry and two AME cranes — a Manitowoc 777T lattice boom truck crane and a Grove 210 ton hydraulic crane — operating simultaneously to again rotate the pieces 90 degrees and transfer them from the rail car to a 10 axle/80-wheel Nicholas trailer,” he continued. “The pieces were then transported four miles to the installation site, where we unloaded them for installation with another 500- ton gantry system.” AME Inc., employed approximately 12 to 16 full- time employees on the job, supplementing its crew at intervals to up to 20 workers. AME was able to self-perform all portions of the handling and installation with its own personnel and equipment with the exception of the barge crane, the rail cars, the Nicholas trailer and the man-lifts as it carried out the transportation and installation of the press. The majority of the press was erected using AME’s 500-ton (453 t) gantry system to move components from the delivery trucks to the plant floor and eventually into place on the press. During several of the key erection sequences the company brought the Manitowoc 777T crane and the 210 ton (190 t) Grove crane into the building to set some of the press components in
Using the gantry system and a 210 ton (190 t) crane in tandem, columns were set into place by connecting what would be the top of the column to the gantry system and the bottom to the crane. As the column approached the pit, the gantry system was raised while the crane hook was lowered until the column was suspended vertically in the pit by the gantry system alone.
place. One such instance was during the setting of the 70 ft. (plus) (21.3 m) long column assemblies, which had to be placed upright into the press pit while working under a 50 ft. (15.2 m) roof. Using the gantry system and the 210 ton crane in tandem, each column was set into place by first connecting what would be the top of the column to the gantry system and the bottom to the crane. As the column approached the pit, the gantry system was raised while the crane hook was lowered until the column was suspended vertically in the pit by the gantry system alone. The crane was then disconnected from the column and the gantry system was used to final locate and set the column in place.
The 565,000 lb.(256,279 kg) upper crosshead being set in place.
“While the company has assembled many large presses, this project had several points of interest, due to the weights of the pieces, the rotation of the pieces for transport and the fact that the press was assembled inside a building with 50-foot bar-joist clearance and inside a 45-foot deep pit,” Walker observed. Despite the size and scope of the project, no problems were experienced.
“Believe it or not, everything went as planned. We experienced a few nonconforming components and some foundation flaws, but these were all easily solved by onsite or off-site machining of parts and quick-response efforts by the building contractors to correct the foundation flaws,” Walker said. “The project will be completed on time and under ATI-Allvac’s budget.” AME Inc. has been providing
industrial, general contracting, crane and fabrication services to national and international customers for 50 years. It has handled repairs, upgrades and installations of equipment in every industry, including those involved in chemical, pharmaceutical, paper, steel and automotive production. This press was one of the largest and most complicated presses AME Inc. has assembled due not only to the magnitude of the details and the necessary pre-planning but also to the limited working spaces involved, according to the company. The press was constructed inside a very complicated foundation with multi-level rooms and a bottom floor 45 ft. (13.7 m) below the production floor. Narrow clearances between the press and the foundation walls, piping and electrical passages, etc. provided little room for rigging and personnel access. “There really is a ton of work that went into this project, from the planning to the picture-perfect execution by our teams, and it will most certainly be one of the highlights of my career,” Walker concluded. (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s Web site at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.) CEG
The press was assembled inside a building with 50-ft. (15 m) bar-joist clearance and inside a 45-ft. (13.7 m) deep pit.
Construction Equipment Guide • North & South Carolina State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • November 4, 2009 • Page 7
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Page 8 • November 4, 2009 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • North & South Carolina State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide
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