Not all machines will be mounted on the ground, some of the machines will be mounted in air-isolated foundations.
When it comes to selecting a foundation for a particular installation of a machine one should consider several things.
To know more about that you should check the article below.
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Isolated foundations are amazing since they provide low-frequency isolation of the machinery and equipment.
But there are more reasons why an air-isolated foundation will come into play.
Without wasting time, let me share with you what you need to know about this.
Why some machines or equipment are mounted in air-isolated foundations rather than directly on the isolation;
1. To reduce the movement of the equipment.
Machines that are subjected to high energy impact or impact loads will constantly keep on moving when they are being operated.
The movement of these machines is going to mess up the production process.
To ensure that the movement is greatly reduced the machines should be mounted in air isolated foundation.
Machines that operate using a drop hammer or a forging hammer will need to be mounted in air isolated foundation.
2. To reduce oscillation of the equipment.
When a machine is subjected to forces or moments it will tend to oscillate.
This oscillation is likely to mess up the processes of this equipment.
Also, the oscillation of this machine is going to take up a big space in the plant.
Accessibility will also be an issue, and that is why people need to reduce the oscillations of these machines.
Good examples of machines that tend to have these oscillations are low-speed diesel engines and horizontal compressors.
3. To reduce the lifting of the equipment or some parts.
Some machines will occasionally need some lifting for them to be used.
Also, it can be that these machines need to be moved from point A to B.
This will require lifting the equipment or some parts of the equipment.
Lifting a heavy machine or some parts of it is going to be a hard task and it’s going to waste so much time.
So, for this reason, to reduce the lifting of the equipment where heavy parts of the machinery are gradually moved these machines have to be mounted in air isolated foundation.
This is going to reduce the work, save time and smoothly working of the equipment.
4. To invert distortion and misalignment
Machines that are made up of separate or with beds not rigid enough to support direct mounting will need to be mounted in air isolated foundation.
Mounting these machines in air isolated foundation is going to invert the distortion and misalignment of these parts thus making it effective with these defects.
Good examples are the large lathe machines.
You might like this: Lathe Machines: Types, Working Principle And Operations
5. To increase the mass and stability of the delicate machines.
In some machines e.g the comparators and surface plate the stability of these pieces of equipment is not that great.
To increase the stability the machines will need to be mounted in air isolated foundation.
This tends to increase the mass and stability of these machines when they are operating.
The fact that they are delicate being mounted directly on the foundation it’s going to cause some distortion when these machines are operating because of the vibrations.
You might like this: Advantages & Disadvantages Of Vibration In Machines
Mounting these machines in air isolated foundation is going to lower the frequency of vibrations thus maintaining these machines while operating.
Stability is also needed to keep these machines in position and prevent them from being damaged.
Final thought.
Machines that are to be mounted in air-isolated foundations should follow those criteria because changing their foundations is going to negatively impact their working conditions.
Also, if very minimal vibrations are needed (low frequency) then one should think of taking advantage of air isolated foundation.
Thank you for reading, if you have any questions leave your comments.
Additionally, notes are also needed, if you have an important point to add to this article just leave your comment or you can contact me.
See you in my next article.
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