Massive Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) Shell Fabrication
Industrial furnaces operate in extreme thermal and abrasive environments. When a leading global power generation and metallurgy engineering firm required a massively thick, high-temperature furnace shell manufactured to incredibly tight tolerances, they selected Openex to execute the contract from plate rolling to final precision machining.
The Engineering Challenge
The project demanded the fabrication of an incredibly thick cylindrical shell utilizing highly specialized, heat-resistant steel designed to withstand extreme thermal expansion and contraction without suffering from structural fatigue.
- ⚠️ Massive Scale & Plate Thickness: Bending and rolling 80mm thick high-alloy steel plates into a perfect 6-meter diameter cylinder requires enormous hydraulic force.
- ⚠️ Weld Distortion Control: Heavy continuous welding creates immense localized heat, pulling the metal out of tolerance. Mitigating thermal distortion during assembly was highly critical.
- ⚠️ Perfect Machined Mating Surfaces: The massive shell required flanges that were perfectly flat so that refractory bricking and lid components sealed airtight.
The Openex Manufacturing Solution
Openex engaged our entire suite of integrated heavy capabilities—orchestrating cutting, rolling, welding, stress-relieving, and CNC machining all within the walls of our 180-acre facility.
1. Extreme Heavy Plate Rolling
Using our specialized heavy plate rollers, our operators cold-rolled the massive heat-resistant steel plates to perfectly match the strict radius dimensions called for in the 3D models.
2. Deep SAW Welding & 100% NDT
Seams were beveled using our plasma edge prep center, then continually joined via Submerged Arc Welding (SAW) on heavy rotators. 100% UT (Ultrasonic Testing) guaranteed flawless structural integration.
3. Thermal Stress Relief
To guarantee zero warpage upon furnace start-up at the power plant, the entire assembly was loaded into our massive on-site PWHT (Post-Weld Heat Treatment) furnaces to thoroughly remove all internal welding stress.
4. 5-Axis CNC Flange Machining
The massive cylinder was hoisted by a 150-ton overhead crane onto our floor-type horizontal boring mill to perform precision surface planing and blind hole drilling on the enormous structural flanges.
✓ Flawless Delivery
The project was dimensionally inspected via advanced laser tracker CMMs, confirming zero run-out on the gigantic 6-meter machined flange faces. Our ability to complete this entirely in-house meant the client avoided managing a fragmented, multi-vendor supply chain—guaranteeing rapid completion within their exact budget structure.
