Preparing your floor for machine installation: a site checklist

Prepare the site before the machine ships. Get the manufacturer's layout and foundation drawings, have a structural engineer confirm the slab can carry the loads, plan the rigging route, and bring power, compressed air, gas and extraction to the points shown on the drawing. Site work finished in advance lets installation start the day the machine arrives.

Start from the manufacturer's drawings

Every serious manufacturer issues an installation or site preparation document for its machines: overall dimensions, weights, foundation requirements, connection points and ambient conditions. Ask for it for the exact configuration you are buying, with every option, loader and auxiliary unit. Machine footprints in brochures usually exclude the chiller, filter unit, electrical cabinet, exchange table travel and the space operators and technicians need around them.

Two catalog examples show the scale. Trumpf lists the TruLaser 1030 fiber at 9,333 x 5,990 x 2,200 mm with a basic machine weight of 9,400 kg (about 20,700 lb). The Durma AD-R 30220 press brake weighs about 12,250 kg (27,000 lb) on a frame roughly 4,250 x 1,770 mm, which concentrates a lot of load on a small area.

Slab and foundation

A floor that carries forklifts every day is not automatically fit for a machine. What matters is the load under each foot or support, vibration and how flat and stable the slab stays over time.

• Get an engineer's opinion. Give a structural engineer the manufacturer's foundation drawing and point loads. They will check slab thickness, reinforcement, the soil below and whether a dedicated foundation or thickened section is needed.
• Heavy presses and long machines. Large press brakes, shears and tandem setups, such as the LVD PPEB 640/61, often need their own foundation, and some designs need a pit. Build exactly to the maker's drawing.
• Joints and cracks. Avoid placing a machine across a slab joint or a cracked area. Movement between two slabs can pull a long machine out of level.
• New concrete. If you pour a new foundation, allow the curing time your engineer specifies before the machine is set and anchored. This is often the longest item on the schedule.
• Flatness. Levelling feet take up small variations, not a sloped or uneven floor. Ask the maker for the flatness it requires.

Anchoring and levelling

Some machines are bolted down, others stand on levelling pads, and some use vibration isolators. Follow the maker's instruction on anchor type, size and embedment, and confirm who supplies the anchors. Drilling into post-tensioned slabs needs care, because cutting a tendon is dangerous and expensive; scan the slab first if you are not sure how it was built. Levelling is normally part of installation, but the floor has to be within the range the feet can correct.

Rigging and access

Walk the route from the truck to the final position with the crate dimensions in hand.

• Openings. Door width and height, turns, ramps and overhead obstructions such as sprinkler pipes, ducts, lights and crane rails.
• Floor along the route. Rigging skates and forklifts put high point loads on the floor. Check trenches, covers and thin areas.
• Lifting equipment. Decide whether you will use a crane, a large forklift, a gantry or skates, and who supplies it. Lifting and moving a machine is work for experienced riggers who know its weight and centre of gravity from the shipping documents.
• Weather. In a Canadian winter, plan where crates wait and how long a machine should warm up indoors before it is powered, so condensation does not reach electronics. Ask the maker for its guidance.
• Unpacking. Keep space next to the final position for opening crates and removing transport bracing.

Power drops

Confirm the voltage, frequency and connected load of the machine and each auxiliary unit, and have a licensed electrician design and install the supply under permit. Most Canadian plants have 347/600 V at 60 Hz, while many imported machines are built for 380 or 400 V at 50 Hz; our guide to 600 V power for imported machines explains the options. For load planning, Trumpf gives an average production power input of 10 to 16 kW for the TruLaser 1030 fiber depending on laser power, but the feeder must be sized to the maker's connected load. Place the disconnect and the drop where the drawing shows them, and plan separate supplies for chillers, dust collectors and compressors.

Compressed air

Many machines need clean, dry air for pneumatics, and some need a lot of it. The GN3021DX thermoformer, for example, calls for at least 6.8 bar (100 psi) and about 1,315 L/min (48 CFM). Check the pressure, flow and air quality the maker specifies, and bring a drop with a shut-off, filter, regulator and drain to the connection point. Fiber lasers that cut with air need a dedicated high-pressure compressor with drying and filtration, because ordinary shop air can damage the cutting head.

Gases

Laser cutting uses oxygen, nitrogen or air, and some processes use other gases. Decide the supply method (cylinders, a bulk tank or an on-site generator) before the layout is fixed, because a bulk tank or generator needs its own location, foundation and piping. Your gas supplier will normally survey the site, and local fire and building rules apply. Our assist gas guide compares the options.

Extraction and ventilation

Laser and plasma cutting, CNC routing and panel sawing all produce fume or dust that must be captured at the source. Plan where the collector sits, the duct route, whether air is exhausted outside or filtered and returned, and where make-up air comes from. Keep access for filter changes and dust disposal. For laser machines, see laser cutting safety and fume extraction.

Lighting and environment

The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) describes three approaches to workplace lighting: general lighting, localized general lighting and task lighting, and notes that contrast and glare affect how well people see. Operators need good light at control panels, loading areas and tool change points, without glare on screens. Also check the maker's limits for ambient temperature, humidity and dust, especially for lasers, electronics cabinets and chillers, and plan for the heat the machine and its chiller give off.

Space around the machine

• Service access to cabinets, the laser source, hydraulic units and filters, with doors fully open.
• Material staging for raw sheets or rolls and for finished parts, with forklift aisles.
• Room for exchange tables, loaders and unloaders to travel.
• A network connection at the control, since many makers use it for remote diagnostics.

Checklist before delivery

1. Final layout drawing approved, including auxiliary units and service clearances.
2. Slab checked by an engineer; foundation, pit or anchors complete and cured.
3. Rigging route measured and cleared; lifting equipment and riggers booked.
4. Electrical supply installed and inspected, with the disconnect at the drawing location.
5. Compressed air drop in place at the required pressure, flow and quality.
6. Gas supply installed or scheduled, with the supplier's site survey done.
7. Extraction ductwork and collector in place or scheduled.
8. Lighting, heating and network at the machine location.
9. Electrical approval route agreed; see CSA approval for imported machinery.
10. Operators named for training during commissioning.

When Titan quotes a machine, delivery, installation and training are included, and we send the site requirements for that configuration so this checklist can be filled in early. See our services or ask for the site requirements of the machines you are considering.