Building or expanding a manufacturing plant can be an exciting process in a company’s growth. Often hand in hand with the construction or expansion of a plant comes new equipment installation or relocation of existing equipment in the plant which may require the installation of new machinery foundations that often require isolation from its surroundings to prevent the transmission of vibrations affecting production in the surrounding plant. Bilz is here to help you simplify your process and offers a turn-key source for your isolated foundation needs. Our experience in the design and installation of machine foundations allows us to offer all of the necessary services to save you time and provide a long-lasting solution to your vibration isolation needs. Depending on the application and level of vibrations you are trying to reduce, we offer three different levels of isolated foundations: isolation pad sets, FAEBI® rubber air springs, and BiAir® air springs. Keep reading to find out which option is best suited for your plant.
Bilz isolation foundations utilize indirect vibration isolation. Indirect vibration isolation of a machine or system enhances the natural rigidity and leads to a significant improvement of the dynamic behavior in response to large changes in load and travel distances because the equipment or machinery is now placed on a large concrete mass that has been isolated versus just isolating the machinery itself. This provides the machinery with a mass to react off of to ensure proper function while still enabling the machinery to be isolated from receiving or emitting vibrations into its surroundings. The exact design of the foundation is dependent on the machine’s size and needs but at Bilz, a team of engineers is at your disposal to ensure that your isolation needs are met. Because of this Bilz can offer the below services as a one-stop-shop for your:
With our complete service, you can rely on us for a smooth and straightforward installation.
There are a variety of benefits to installing an isolated foundation. First, as mentioned above, the increased machine rigidity enables effective vibration isolation even with large machines at very low frequencies. By isolating a foundation block that the machine then sits on, the machine reacts off the foundation block ensuring proper operation of the machine while still allowing the machine to be properly isolated from surrounding vibrations. Isolated foundations also reduce the vibration amplitude by lowering the center of gravity of the machine which results in a much more stable machine than if the machine had been isolated directly. This puts less stress on electronic components, control, and bearings in the machine and provides higher quality results. This is particularly important for applications where maintaining level conditions is critical. In addition, because of the increase in mass, these foundations reduce the relative movements of machine components or attachments, making them ideal for robots or material feeds where stability is critical for the machine to function.
There are several levels of isolated foundation design to choose from. The simplest form of isolation we offer at Bilz is the utilization of our isolation pads stacked in layers, as shown below.
After the isolation pad sets are in position steel or traditional formwork is then installed on top of the isolation pads and the concrete foundation block is poured in place. Depending on the configuration of the pads and the number of layers, an isolated foundation with a natural frequency under 10 Hz can be achieved.
The next option is to install an isolated foundation with FAEBI® rubber air springs and level control system. These air springs are typically used in conjunction with a precast concrete foundation block that is picked and set into the foundation pit after the Faebi air springs have been installed. This option is commonly used with punching machines to prevent the transmission of vibrations into the surroundings. Below is an example of an isolated foundation utilizing Faebi air springs prior to the installation of the foundation block. Depending on the configuration of the air springs a natural frequency of 5Hz can be achieved.
The final option is foundation isolation using low-frequency BiAir® membrane air springs. BiAir® air springs are capable of ultra low-frequency isolation (1-2 hz). Unlike the use of pad sets or steel springs, utilizing the BiAir air springs and adjustable level control system allows the foundation block to react to a change in load and maintain the proper system height in the foundation block. These foundations are used in ultra-low vibration laboratory settings as well as with high-end metrology where low-frequency vibrations can affect equipment performance.
