Hydraulic Welding Table
Hydraulic power is a simple yet powerful concept. Over the past 60 years, we’ve seen our share of innovative applications of hydraulic power when paired with the brightest engineering minds. Nothing gets our Hydraulic Specialists more excited than when they have the opportunity to work hand-in-hand with a client to develop a new, custom application of hydraulic power. Pneumatic and Hydraulic Company is always looking for challenging cutting-edge projects. We had an opportunity recently to collaborate with one of the largest engineering and construction companies in the United States to do just that and create a one-of-a-kind structure.
The task presented to PHC was to power a hydraulic tilt table. This table would be used to hold and move long, convex, 1.25-inch thick panels of steel as they are welded together to make large storage tanks. With a welding machine mounted on the side of the tilt table, as the table holding the steel panels moved with the use of hydraulic cylinders on each side, the welding machine would weld the pieces together. With a stationary welding process rather than moving the machine vertically, you reduce emissions and have a more accurate weld.
Now, this isn’t a small structure, this is a very large structure; it weighs 80,000 pounds to be exact with the length of the table measuring in at 40 feet. With this large amount of weight being moved, we had to make sure there was enough hydraulic power to tilt the table from side to side with the hydraulic cylinders, as well as handle the added weight of the steel panels being welded. The 8 cylinders used on the tilt tables were Sheffer brand hydraulic cylinders. The cylinders used to tilt the table from side to side have an 8-inch bore and 58” stroke (gross) 52.63” stroke (net). The cylinders used to extend the retractable wings have 4-inch bores with an 18.50” stroke. Both cylinders used 3000 max PSI. The source of the hydraulic power needed to be powerful enough to handle the weight being pushed by the cylinders on each side of the tilt table, so we designed and built a hydraulic power unit. PHC’s hydraulic power unit clocked in at 10 horsepower and 10 gallons per minute.
Aside from the tilting action needed to move the steel panels, we also needed to power hydraulic cylinders on the wings of the table structure. The wings needed to expand to hold the welding machine stationary and then close down for easier transportation of the tilt table to the job site and for any future travels made with the table. Without the retractable ability of the wings, the structure is 40 feet wide, but with the wings closed, the width is reduced to 9 feet.
The PHC team traveled to Tucson, Arizona to meet with the collaborating engineering company to assemble the final product. After construction, our team tested the table and made any necessary adjustments. This hydraulic tilt table is a testament to Pneumatic and Hydraulic Company’s continuous work to evolve as a company, working in a variety of industries, and bringing our expertise and dedication to even the most challenging projects.
For more information about our custom system capabilities, call our system experts at 877-836-1999
