SECTION 4.4 How to Design Steel Frames 1. INTRODUCTION ‘The design of built-up steel frames for use in machinery overlaps the discussion of other subjects in this text, and therefore will not be treated as comprehensively here, A machine base, for ex- ample, represents a particular class of frame. Most of the discussion on designing machine bases, Sect. 4.1, could be repeated here, but instead the de- signer is referred to that Section and toother pas sages cross-referenced in Sect. 4.1. Of special value to the designer, Reference Section 7.4 at the back of this book contains numer- ous pages of frame diagrams and formulas. These, directly or by judicious adaptation, will cover a host of seemingly difficult design situations. A few examples of frame design problems and their solutions are given here for the guidance of other designers in finding and developing a sound engineering approach to their problems. Defining design objectives, and evaluating alter- native proposed designs with respect to these objec- tives, should constitute the major challenge towhich the mathematical procedure should be servant, Automatic sheet feeder incorporates many welded steel members. Welded frame has required rigidity for good bearing support, contributing to roll alignment and tion of vibration problems in drive system. Cost en Site Frome 1600 ws FIGURE 1 2. COMPARISON OF ALTERNATIVE DESIGNS: ‘The first design can hardly be expectedto be the best. Whatever one is accepted should be considered a compromise, to be used until time and experience and evolution of the art result in a redesign that sufficiently superior to justify its use.AA-2 / St nary-Member Design besgn c Grd bres FIGURE 2 All-steel designs, fabricated by welding, lend themselves to economical modification and im- Provement between major model changes, A frame is usually so large and heavy that a small percentage savings in weight is very impor- tant. A good example of this is illustrated in Fig- ure 1, The original side frameasa gray iron cast- ing weighed 1600 Ibs. It can easily be converted into a strong, rigid and much lighter welded steel frame, The evolution of a much more efficient design is shown in Figure 2. Perhaps the simplest fabricated steel frame is design A, This is flame-cut from 1%" plate. A1" x8" base plate is welded to it. Four thick-wall tubes are welded in place for the bear- ings; these could be solid round bar stockand later bored out to size. This frame weighs 1520 lbs, which represents a very low savings in weight. ob- viously, a better design is needed. Design B is made of %" plate, with three of its edges flanged over and two formed "plates inserted for the corners. For additional torsiogal resistance, "by 3" flat bars are inserted at 45° to form dia- gonal bracing; these also tie into the bearing hubs and stiffen them, This frame weighs 885 lbs. Design C uses two '" side plates flame-cut to shape. These are welded directly tothe 1" x 8" base plate and joined all the way around the other three sides by aM" x4" flat bar. Thick-walled tubing is inserted between the two side plates and welded in place to provide for the bearings and totie the frame together. ‘This produces anefficient box section for added torsional resistance. This weighs 790 Ibs, an approximately 50% reduction in weight from the or- iginal design, Design D is made of two 4" side plates flanged top and bottom sos to form abox section when toe welded together. End plates, 14" x 4", are bent at the bottom and with the added stiffener provide the feet of the frame. Thick-walled tubes are provided for the bearings. This final design weighs 450 Ibs, an ultimate 72% savings in weight, while retaining the necessary rigidity and strength.3. USE OF STANDARD SECTIONS Many frames can be designed as a build-up of members having desirable section properties Strength (S) and rigidity (1) of the section carry over to the well-designed frame and permit its being made lighter, stiffer, and more economically. ‘The most efficient sections for compressive or torsional loading are closed shapes, suchas hollow How to Design Steel Frames / 4.4—3 rounds, squares and rectangles. Since these area~ vailable in a wide range of standard structural steel tubing and pipe, they can often be used advantageous- ly. Steel handbooks catalog the properties of stand~ ard sections, making their selection relatively easy. For large frames, similar sections can be fab- ricated from flat stock using press brake, bending rolls, and like equipment, and arc-welding the Problem 1 ‘The frame in Figure 3 is part of a grain un- loader for a box car. It supportsa baffle, which is inserted into the car while the car is tilted, and directs the grain out through the car door and into a hopper below. FIGURE 3 Because so many forces are applied to this frame and vary because of changing load conditions, it is difficult to make a complete analysis of this frame, However, it is possible to analyze portions of the frame under a given set of load conditions. Assume this frame is simply supported by two bearings, loaded with the dead weight of the frame as well as the weight of the baffle. The baffle is inserted into the box car with the pressure of the grain against it. The frame is fixed or held at the lower connection, This results in-- 1. A twisting action to the lower horizontal member. The torque equals the force on the baffle multiplied by the height of the baffle above the bot- tom member. 2. A twisting and bending action on the vertical pipe member. ‘The following analyses the strength and stiff ness of the frame supporting a 500-Ib vertical load and its own dead weight, Excluding the hubs, this frame has three mem- bers: A. B. and C. Cross-section properties of these members are readily available. FIGURE 4 (a) (B) ro) 4" plate 6" XX pipe T= 324 int 1, = 66.33 in S.= 54 in? S. = 15.64 in! w= 4.25 Ibs/in, w= 4.49 Ibs/in, 2 = 48" (length) b = 60" (length) (length)