Shop Talk

Shop Talk

Across-the-machine baselines as the alignment reference for freestanding paper machines

GEORGE ALLEN JR.

n offset baseline is an alignment reference parallel to the machine centerline and is typically identified by a series of monuments placed in the operating floor. These monuments serve as datums to record the exact position of the baseline relative to the machine centerline. The existence of a properly installed offset baseline permits the use of optical tooling for machine alignment tasks. Using an offset baseline with optical tooling allows each machine component to be related to the same alignment reference: the machine centerline. This eliminates the possibility of errors caused by tolerance accumulation that frequently occurs when roll-to-roll alignment techniques are employed. Utilizing an offset baseline and optical tooling also allows the flexibility of relating one component to another that is a distance away, or even to a component that is not installed or in place at that time. By using optical tooling the location of components that are difficult to access, such as rolls in the upper portion of a press section of a paper machine, can be accurately measured.

Placing the baseline

There are several factors to consider when determining the proper placement of the baseline in the tending side aisle. The baseline should be installed in a location such that it is convenient to take optical readings. Too close to the paper machine will make it difficult to take readings high up on the machine. Too far from the paper machine may hide rolls behind the dryer hood. Ease in performing alignment work on the paper machine during other maintenance or construction projects occurring at the same time as realignment should also be considered when placing the baseline. Monuments should be placed a maximum of two bays apart. However, installing more monuments than actually required and placing them closer together can help to prevent interference with other maintenance or construction efforts. Installing monuments in high-traffic areas or where equipment is stored during shutdowns should be avoided.

Establishment of a baseline
The proper establishment of the baseline is critical to successful alignment. It must be a true representation of the machine centerline at all times. Consideration must be given to machine movement caused by the shifting of the building as temperatures change from hot operation to shutdown and all conditions in between. Monuments or datums representing the baseline must be positioned to ensure accurate tracking of the machine movement caused by these temperature changes. The monuments should be located on the building steel to ensure their movement with the machine. The procedure for installing an offset baseline requires that readings be taken to identify the centerline of each section of the machine. The data accumulated are then studied to determine the optimum parallel position for the baselines location relative to the machine centerline (see Fig. 1).

Recording baseline as-builts

Eight to 12 hours are required for a two-person alignment team to gather the data necessary to establish the baseline and to place sufficient monuments in the operating room floor. This work cannot be accomplished with the machine running. The work typically commences, however, at the beginning of an outage while the paper machine is still hot. During the outage the machine and building will cool down from the operating temperature; both will change shape as the cooling continues. Any monument installed late in the outage in a cooler floor may assume a new location when the machine again reaches operating temperature. Thus, readings taken to fix the exact location of the baseline on a machine that has been shut down for a period of time may not be accurate. It is necessary to establish the exact location of the baseline relative to the machine centerline at operating temperature. Thus, as-built readings should be taken on these datums with the building and machine at operating temperature. [Note: As-

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1. Installing an offset baseline

2. Machine movement within itself

3. Installing alignment datums in the sill beams

4. Recording hot as-builts

built is the deviation of the actual dimension as compared with the design dimension.] To assure that the new baseline is ready as the alignment reference when needed, the as-built readings should be verified at the very beginning of the next shutdown while the machine and building are still hot. The baseline installation procedure is not complete until the hot as-built locations of the datums are evaluated.

Across-the-machine baselines
Paper machines designed as freestanding add extra considerations that can compromise the accuracy of alignment readings. Freestanding paper machines are supported on sill beams and independent building columns that are anchored in the basement and are not connected to the operating room floor. With this design the paper machine and the building move independently as the temperatures change; building and machine movement are not necessarily in sync. Alignment readings taken from datums installed in the operating room floor of a freestanding machine will change with the movement of the building and machine as both cool down and heat up. Therefore, the operating room floor cannot be considered a proper
Vol. 78, No. 11 Tappi Journal

location for establishing the optimum alignment reference to the machine centerline. Our studies also show that freestanding paper machines move within themselves. The tending side and drive side frames move in different directions, at different speeds, or both as the machine changes temperature. This can cause a twisting within machine sections that forms parallelograms. However, the machine frames return to their established running positions as the machine returns to operating temperature (see Fig. 2). A reliable method for obtaining accurate alignment data on a paper machine of this freestanding design is to place the centerline reference datums in the sill beams across the machine, thus establishing a baseline that is perpendicular to the machine centerline; in other words, an across-the-machine baseline. The procedure for establishing an across-the-machine baseline is the same as with an offset baseline, although the installation time may be considerably more than with the offset baseline. Readings are taken to establish the centerline of each machine section and studied to determine the optimum centerline for the entire paper machine (see Fig. 3).

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Then, at least one set of two monuments must be placed in each section of the paper machine to accurately track the movement of that section. The rolls, frames, sill beams, and monuments move together as the machine changes shape during temperature changes. By placing the datums in the sill beams, the movement of the components is tracked through the cool-down period and the alignment readings accurately recorded (see Fig. 4). It is then critical to have as-built dimensions taken on these datums during the next outage with the machine and building at operating temperature.

Summary
The machine centerline as represented by a properly installed baseline is the optimum reference for paper machine alignment. The design of each paper machine, however, must be considered when determining the type of baseline that should be used. It is mandatory to record as-built deviations with the paper machine at its operating temperature when utilizing an across-the-machine baseline. TJ
Allen is founder and former president of OASIS, Inc., P.O. Box 1805, Rochester, NH 03866, and now serves as a consultant to the paper industry.

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