Case study: Boeing DS Technologie No. 1 & 2 CNC Machine Foundations

Manufacturing

Boeing DS Technologie No. 1 & 2 CNC Machine Foundations

Customer: Boeing Commercial Airplanes

Project Location:Gresham, Oregon

The new Boeing 787 aircraft is expected to increase demand for large machined metal parts. The Portland, Oregon Boeing facility is considered a center of excellence for the production of machined parts. A considerable portion of the demand for new aircraft parts will be served by the Portland facility.

The Challenge

The new parts are typically machined from a parent block of material, typically aluminum, steel, or titanium, using sophisticated Computer Numeric Controlled (CNC) machines. These machines are capable of cutting, reaming, routing and drilling to the extremely tight tolerances required of the commercial aircraft industry. The foundations for milling machines are typically composed of cast-in-place reinforced concrete, heavily reinforced and sufficiently rigid to minimize machinery deflections and rotations to the minimalist levels required by Boeing and the machine designer.

Harris Group designed the foundations for the new No. 1 and No. 2 DS Technologie CNC Machine Tool Assemblies and related equipment at the Boeing Portland plant site. The entire project was to be installed without affecting continuous operation of the existing machining factory, a 24/7/365 operation critical to Boeing’s support of aircraft parts deliveries.

The Solution

Harris Group's structural engineers participated in the project planning phase. One main obstacle was the new footings were located over the top of existing massive concrete foundations from existing CNC machines. Only a portion of that footing could be removed without a significant outage on production machinery. The optimal solution called for partial removal of existing footings to the top of a functioning chip recovery flume, and designing the new footing to act compositely with the remaining CNC Machine foundation. The existing equipment had been in place since the early 1990’s, and the heavy loads imposed by the machine center had preloaded the soil, thus reducing settlements for any new loads. This is highly desirable for the new settlement sensitive machines.

A computer finite element analysis model was developed to design the footing. The program provided a soil pressure map to minimize the area of the new footing and confirm a uniform soil bearing pressure to minimize differential settlement of the footing. The cost to drill and chemically grout large diameter reinforcing bars is very high. The computer program helped reduce the amount of mechanical bonding of new to existing concrete. The program also calculated foundation deflections due to imposed loads, providing assurances to Boeing and the machine supplier that the foundation would meet performance criteria. Allowable foundation deflections that support CNC machinery are extremely small.

When the foundation was submitted to the local building official for permit reasons, the high level of confidence provided by the design methodology and exacting set of detail drawings resulted in a very timely and efficient permitting phase.

The footings for the two new machines were complex, cast-in-place concrete structures. The concrete pour required for these machines were on the order of several hundred cubic yards each, and re-pouring due to errors and misalignment could not be tolerated. Extremely high levels of quality control ensured error prevention.

The Benefits

The project met the safety goals and performance criteria set by Boeing and the machine supplier. Construction was completed on schedule, within budget, and without error. The new machines were set in place without any miss-alignment between the machines and foundations. The commissioning and startup curves for the new machines proceeded as planned. The machines were successfully certified to produce parts, validating the foundation performance. Finally, continuous and safe operation of the adjacent factory was met without incident during the construction phase.

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Overview Case Studies White Papers Contacts	Boeing DS Technologie No. 1 & 2 CNC Machine Foundations Customer: Boeing Commercial Airplanes Project Location:Gresham, Oregon The new Boeing 787 aircraft is expected to increase demand for large machined metal parts. The Portland, Oregon Boeing facility is considered a center of excellence for the production of machined parts. A considerable portion of the demand for new aircraft parts will be served by the Portland facility. The Challenge The new parts are typically machined from a parent block of material, typically aluminum, steel, or titanium, using sophisticated Computer Numeric Controlled (CNC) machines. These machines are capable of cutting, reaming, routing and drilling to the extremely tight tolerances required of the commercial aircraft industry. The foundations for milling machines are typically composed of cast-in-place reinforced concrete, heavily reinforced and sufficiently rigid to minimize machinery deflections and rotations to the minimalist levels required by Boeing and the machine designer. Harris Group designed the foundations for the new No. 1 and No. 2 DS Technologie CNC Machine Tool Assemblies and related equipment at the Boeing Portland plant site. The entire project was to be installed without affecting continuous operation of the existing machining factory, a 24/7/365 operation critical to Boeing’s support of aircraft parts deliveries. The Solution Harris Group's structural engineers participated in the project planning phase. One main obstacle was the new footings were located over the top of existing massive concrete foundations from existing CNC machines. Only a portion of that footing could be removed without a significant outage on production machinery. The optimal solution called for partial removal of existing footings to the top of a functioning chip recovery flume, and designing the new footing to act compositely with the remaining CNC Machine foundation. The existing equipment had been in place since the early 1990’s, and the heavy loads imposed by the machine center had preloaded the soil, thus reducing settlements for any new loads. This is highly desirable for the new settlement sensitive machines. A computer finite element analysis model was developed to design the footing. The program provided a soil pressure map to minimize the area of the new footing and confirm a uniform soil bearing pressure to minimize differential settlement of the footing. The cost to drill and chemically grout large diameter reinforcing bars is very high. The computer program helped reduce the amount of mechanical bonding of new to existing concrete. The program also calculated foundation deflections due to imposed loads, providing assurances to Boeing and the machine supplier that the foundation would meet performance criteria. Allowable foundation deflections that support CNC machinery are extremely small. When the foundation was submitted to the local building official for permit reasons, the high level of confidence provided by the design methodology and exacting set of detail drawings resulted in a very timely and efficient permitting phase. The footings for the two new machines were complex, cast-in-place concrete structures. The concrete pour required for these machines were on the order of several hundred cubic yards each, and re-pouring due to errors and misalignment could not be tolerated. Extremely high levels of quality control ensured error prevention. The Benefits The project met the safety goals and performance criteria set by Boeing and the machine supplier. Construction was completed on schedule, within budget, and without error. The new machines were set in place without any miss-alignment between the machines and foundations. The commissioning and startup curves for the new machines proceeded as planned. The machines were successfully certified to produce parts, validating the foundation performance. Finally, continuous and safe operation of the adjacent factory was met without incident during the construction phase.