In 2016, JNE was approached by one of the world’s largest producers of industrial crankshafts for the conceptual design of a large closed die upsetting and offsetting hydraulic press.  Once completed, this press would be the largest of its kind on the planet.

The completion of this project would enable the client to extend their product capability range into more markets, including the marine, oil and gas, aerospace, and defense industries, and also allow for the use of a broader variety of materials in the production of their crankshafts.

Competing with other engineering consultants for the conceptual design, JNE’s design was selected based on the efficiency, reliability, quality, constructability, and competitive construction cost.  Once selected, the client sent JNE’s design to a German equipment manufacturer to purchase the necessary equipment.  However, upon review of the final product, JNE found that the manufacturer’s model was not cost-effective.

To reduce the inflated costs, JNE recommended modifications based on finite element and sensitivity analysis and worked with the manufacturer to optimize the structural design.  These optimizations would maintain functionality, reliability, and quality while also reducing costs by approximately $4,000,000, roughly 30% of the total structure construction cost.  The completed press spans 35 x 35 m, with a height of 8.5 m. It features 317.5 tonnes of vertical, horizontal and circumferential post-tensioning tendons, 771 tonnes of traditional reinforcement and 7,000 yards of high strength concrete.

In addition to JNE Consulting’s contribution of design and engineering services to the project, JNE Automation provided a structural health monitoring system to monitor internal stresses, displacements, temperature, and long-term movements of the press to ensure continuous smooth operation.

JNE worked closely with the equipment manufacturer and owner on the successful commissioning of the system. This project demonstrates JNE’s ability to reveal significant cost-savings through design and analytical expertise, and also highlights another successful collaboration between JNE’s Consulting and Automation teams.