Cannon Boiler Works Uses FARO for

Energy / In-Process Inspection & Alignment

Unique Application with Great Faith

“Having just scratched the surface of the FARO system’s value

in our company, I can easily say that several key benefits we’ve
experienced have been reduced work, shortened build times,
improved build quality and consistency, improved insight to some
of our standard procedures and confidence in many replacement
and/or repair contracts.”
 For almost 40 years, Cannon Boiler Works has been committed to helping produce energy in the most
Energy / In-Process Inspection & Alignment

efficient manner possible. As a forward-thinking leader in the efficiency of industrial energy, CBW (www.
cannonboilerworks.com) products reduce fuel costs and the emission of greenhouse gasses.

CBW designs, manufactures, and services boilers and pressure vessels as well as an extensive line of additional
products. The company offers feed water heaters, condensing economizers, heavy duty economizers, vent
condensers, steam accumulators, and custom heat exchangers, as well as waste heat boilers, finned tubing
products, inter- and after-coolers, lube oil coolers, air coolers, and other specialty products.

Problem
CBW provides a wide variety of heat exchangers, both new and rebuilt.
The company’s experience has helped their customers solve many difficult
corrosion problems by using sophisticated material selection and creative
design features that greatly improve the performance and longevity of
these exchangers.

One product, large air-cooled, high-temperature heat exchangers that are

the subject of this case study are produced in three sizes: what CBW calls
a 300 size which is 25” x 25” x 54”, a 1500 size which is 49” x 80” x 79”,
and a 3000 size which is 87” x 100” x 109”. To properly inspect the 300,
there are approximately 62 different features and 80 constructions that
must be measured. The 1500 raises these numbers to 150 features and
280 constructions while the 3000 raises them even higher to 200 features
and 290 constructions.

These exchangers have structural bolting flanges on the shell side and
finned tubes with pipe headers on the tube side. CBW must measure and
report the tube side flanges relative to the centers of the structural flange Large unit in set-up position,
bolt hole patterns. They must also report the integrity of the structural comp-off points clamped or
hot glued to unit
flange bolt hole patterns themselves as they tend to distort after welding.

To get these measurements, CBW would use a combination of levels, plumb bobs, tape measures, straight
edges, and a geometry-based metrology. By virtue of the construction of these units, there were many
features that could not be measured using analog methods like these. Once completed, the largest unit weighs
nearly eight tons and the shell-side passage is completely blocked with
a finned tube array. This means that once completed, the only access
to the bottom from the top is around the side of the unit.

Imagine that the perimeter of the top of the unit is a rectangular

bolting flange with 48 holes and the bottom is a bolting flange with
52 holes. These patterns must be measured and each hole located to
within 3/32”. Then the bolting pattern centers must be located within
1/4” of one another in two dimensions.

The analog methods of measuring were a mixture of not capable, not

Large unit in set-up position,
comp-off points clamped or hot
glued to unit, top position fixture
plate shown on top of unit. All
comp-off points are measured
from this fixture, device position
#1
accurate enough, too complicated, and had the potential for human
error with the manual reporting required. These tools and methods
also introduced many variables that could alter measurement accuracy.
For example, when CBW tried to find if a connection was centered
between two rows of bolt hole centers 100 inches apart, they first had
to “fit” the rows to separate lines and measure toward the connection
perpendicular to one of those lines. It is difficult to find a flanged
connection center (center of an ANSI flange bolt pattern) and then to determine if this center is midway

Energy / In-Process Inspection & Alignment

between the bolt hole rows within the required 1/8”. This required analog reconciliation of potential variances
in the bolt hole rows, the bolt hole diameters, and the flanged connection manufactured tolerances. It was
basically trying to measure between two imaginary points that result from a best fit of 4 to 28 features within
that 1/8” over a distance of 50 inches. This proved VERY difficult, if not impossible, using traditional, analog
tools and methods.

Solution
As a solution to the measurement deficiencies of more traditional
tools, CBW turned to FARO. With FARO’s presence in the portable CMM
market, the quality of its hardware and software, and its excellent
customer support, the overall value FARO represented to CBW was
clear when the company considered these factors relative to competing
companies and products.

Until the purchase and implementation of a FaroArm and CAM2 software,

there were a number of features that were requested by customers for
measurement that simply were not possible using analog tools and
methods. In the example of the fabricated bolting flange patterns that
are measured relative to the pattern center as well as other features
relative to this same center, the FaroArm made it possible to measure
and report these and other features. The CAM2 software and its
iterative capabilities provided CBW the insight into fabrication methods
and sequences that helped them eliminate unit-to-unit variances in
manufacturing. This yielded a more consistent and precise product.
Mid-sized unit in set-up
The type of depth in quality the FARO system offered cemented the position, FARO Fusion at device
end customer’s confidence in CBW’s product. position #1

It’s an interesting application in that CBW calculates imaginary (non-

measureable) center points of a rectangular bolt hole pattern and reports the centers of pipe header outlets
relative to those points. The software must also perform an iterative fit of these structural flange bolt hole
patterns and report any holes that fall out of “tolerance” in order to give a “real world” bolt-up acceptance or
rejection. In this particular application, it’s sort of like an advanced go-no go gauge on steroids. What makes all
of this especially interesting is that this is done with five device positions
while holding 1/8” tolerance on a fully welded assembly with many feet of
weld between measured features.

Because of the blocked shell-side passage on the heat exchangers, a

number of device moves (leapfrogs) must be performed to construct
each flange from data taken in four different positions. Leapfrogging
is a technique used with portable measuring devices like the FaroArm
that extends their working volume by measuring reference points in one
position and again after moving the device to a new position. The reference
points link to the new device position, allowing for measurements to be
taken and reported in the same reference frame.

Large unit in set-up position,
comp-off points clamped or
hot glued to unit
The level of measurement that CBW was looking for, up to five device
positions with so many features and constructions, initially took some
time and a healthy dose of help from FARO customer service to develop.
Applications Engineer Todd Wilson helped to develop a core programming
and methodology for a single product size. Once the alpha version was
reached and consistency in measurement was established, it took as
little as a half a day to train additional operators on how to use the FARO
 system with the alpha programming. Once the beta version of this programming was complete, implementing
Energy / In-Process Inspection & Alignment

an inspection process and optimizing the software to achieve their goals of adding features, constructions,
coordinate systems, multiple alignments, and corresponding reports was a matter of specifying the setup to
the shop and providing the time to perform the measurements.

Originally though, the programming had one coordinate system alignment based on part features that was used
only to measure the final product. Since that first program, CBW has integrated two more iterative alignments
used to report large bolt patterns of 48 or more holes and their conformance to tolerance independent of other
unit features. The programming uses a portion of the measurements for one alignment, generates a report,
uses a new set of features for another alignment, generates
a report, and finally the last alignment with a third and final
(overall) report.

From that original starting point, and after advanced training

from FARO, CBW added measured features to the final
measurement program as well as a number of in-process
measurements. The result was a robust quality system for their
primary products using the FaroArm and CAM2 software. More
specifically, this system has grown from the one “seed” program
of one measurement of one product size to over ten programs
spanning three product sizes. Even the CAM2 software’s ability
to output raw data has become an integral component of the
quality system for these products with respect to 3rd party data Mid-sized unit in set-up position, FARO
analysis. Fusion at device position #1, comp-off
points not located in this picture
The primary parts mentioned here are so large and difficult to
measure using analog methods that once confidence in the new FARO system was established, the technology
was quickly accepted by everyone from welders/fabricators on up to the president of the company. The
confidence in the methods and technology took approximately nine months to develop, but once it was reached
CBW found themselves leaning on the FARO system more and more in daily operation.

There are two core components of the final product that are measured after they are produced, but before they
are used in unit fabrication. CBW also uses the FaroArm during assembly to ensure that the key connections
are located within tolerance before they are locked into place. Then, of course, there is a final measurement of
the finished product. In general, there are four FaroArm measurements and reports that are analyzed during
the construction of the two larger-sized primary products detailed earlier.

This range of products is an example of the unique work done by CBW and presented a unique measurement
challenge for the FARO system. That’s to say, the designs of each size are property of CBW, but by the nature
of their application are developed in conjunction with the end customer. Products this large and having so many
features require several device moves. Both the final product tolerances and those applied at the in-process
inspection points are so tight that sometimes alternative alignments must be used to check for real-world
conformance. Plainly, sometimes CBW must simply check to see if a particular unit will fit into the assembly.
To do this, they have the programming perform iterative alignments over varying geometries ranging from
single bolt hole patterns of 52 holes in a single plane to 2 bolt hole patterns of 12 holes each and 7 different
connection points.

In addition, CBW has qualified several shop fixtures using FARO and is in the process of designing more
elaborate fixturing for production that will also be qualified as accurate build tools using FARO.

Return on Investment
Over the last three years, approximately 37 units have been built and measured using the FARO system. In
this time, the measurement procedure has increased in depth from just a final measurement of a finished unit
to preliminary measurements and measurement of individual fabricated components before assembly even
begins. For each, FARO has been successfully used.

Energy / In-Process Inspection & Alignment

“We have been able to reduce the variance of
in-process placement of key features from as much
as 7/16” to 1/8” from one unit to the next,” said Marc
Dinsmore, Mechanical Design Engineer at CBW. “The
FARO system has allowed us to become so consistent
and accurate from build to build that the largest cause
of variance between builds has become the actual mill
tolerances on the raw material being used!”

As another benefit, there have been several instances

for CBW where the FARO system has proven to be a
valuable tool for reverse engineering during exchanger
rebuilds and boiler re-tube contracts. These types of jobs require careful measuring of corroded or incomplete
components with many mating surfaces. Accurate measurement is vital to the success of these jobs and the
FARO system ensured near perfect replacement parts by virtue of its accuracy and its robust data collection.
These jobs were previously completed without the FARO system, but not with the confidence and streamlined
efficiency that system affords more difficult jobs.

The CAM2 software’s ability to preserve data for documentation and future analysis has also proven to be very
valuable. Going back into previous builds has allowed CBW to see the improvement in their processes and will
prove more and more valuable as additional data is extracted.

Though it is difficult to always quantify a dollar amount

on savings and, in this case, using the FARO system
actually added some time to the build process, CBW
is more interested in the end result. That end result is
the assurance of accurately placed features and that is
the ultimate goal. That assurance was not there using
analog methods. Without FARO, the inspection could
not be completed in the desired detail and that should
always be the goal of any quality process.

For CBW, there is an overall savings in the development

of their quality system centered on FARO. Their FARO
system has eliminated much of the costly rework at
the end of the build through in-process inspections with the FaroArm. The results of some early inspections
led to fabrication process changes that eliminated much of the weld distortion that was found. Those early
results also yielded design changes along with fixturing and bracing to replace the older analog (tape measure)
placement methods that had created product variance and non-conformance. These improvements shed an
estimated 8 to 24 man hours from the finished product fabrication time.

“Having just scratched the surface of the FARO system’s value in our company,” said Mr. Dinsmore. “I can easily
say that several key benefits we’ve experienced have been reduced work, shortened build times, improved
build quality and consistency, improved insight to some of our standard procedures, and confidence in many
replacement and/or repair contracts.”

“I must tell you,” Mr. Dinsmore concluded, “that I have great faith in our FARO Fusion and the customer service
we have received in the past couple of years!”

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