What is the factory span? 

The factory span is a familiar concept in the construction industry.Let’s find out the details with KTG Industrial in this article.

What is the factory span?

The factory span is the distance between two columns of the factory horizontally. This distance is calculated from the edge of one column to the edge of the other column. The factory span can have many different sizes, commonly 25 meters, 30 meters, and 50 meters, depending on the requirements of each type of production.

• 25m span: Often used for small factories or medium-sized manufacturing enterprises, where light goods are mainly stored or compact equipment is installed.
• 30m span: Common in larger manufacturing plants, where large spaces are needed to accommodate modern machinery or production lines, such as textile or component manufacturing.
• 50m span: Often applied to large factories, warehouses or heavy industrial plants, such as steel production or automobile assembly, because space is needed to accommodate huge equipment and operate large cranes.

Factory span is the distance measured from the edge of one column on one side of the factory to the edge of the other column on the other side.

Other terms about factory span

In addition to factory span, there are some important concepts that investors/business owners need to understand, including:

• Column pitch: This is the distance from one row of columns to another row of columns.
• Factory height: This is the overall height of the factory, measured from the base of the edge column to the edge of the roof.
• Roof slope: This is an indicator of the slope of the roof. Normally, the ideal slope is 10%.
• Foundation load: This is the maximum load-bearing capacity of the foundation.
• Roof load: This is an indicator of the load-bearing capacity of the roof.
• Crane: This is a concept used to refer to equipment used to lift/lower/move goods in the factory.
• Truss: This is the part that connects the parts of the factory roof together. At the same time, the truss helps to support the roof stably.
• Beams: Is the part that connects the truss and the crossbars, forming a structural frame that supports the roof.

Calculating the span, investors need to pay attention to the column step, factory height, roof slope, etc.

When referring to the span, investors/business owners should correctly identify the terms below:

• Cut span: This is the horizontal distance, calculated from the edge of this culvert to the edge of the opposite culvert.
• Bridge span: The bridge span is a detail that helps the bridge operate safely and stably. In which, the bridge span span is the distance between the pillars or connection points of the bridge span, from one end to the other end.
• Bridge span structure calculation span: This is the horizontal distance between the two support centers on a bridge span.
• Drainage span: This is the distance measured from the inner edge of this bridge structure to the inner edge of the other bridge structure and minus the width of the pillars. Determining the drainage span is very important for construction safety, especially in the case of storms and floods and is very necessary when assessing the safety of constructions near rivers and lakes.
• Clearance: This is the width of the bridge’s clear span.

The role of the factory aperture

The factory aperture not only helps determine the usable space but also affects the selection of construction equipment and construction costs. Here are some important roles of the aperture:

Helps determine the shape of the factory structure: Carefully measuring the width of the factory helps the designer calculate to suit the height, length, … Thanks to that, the user unit can conveniently place machinery and store goods. In addition, based on this index, the construction party can choose the appropriate type of factory and piles, ensuring the high durability of the architecture.

• Easy to choose construction support equipment: The factory aperture directly affects the selection of suitable construction equipment, such as machinery to lift, lower columns, roofs or install pipeline systems and materials. For large-span factories, the use of specialized equipment with larger sizes and loads is necessary to ensure efficiency and safety during construction.
• Helps determine construction and operating costs accurately: Large spans often cost more to construct than small-span factories. Because the construction unit has to hire more workers and invest in large-sized machinery and supporting equipment.

Factory span plays an important role in the construction of factory architecture.

Factory components

The factory is a very complex structure, consisting of many elements such as:

• Load-bearing frame system: This is the part that helps support all other parts of the factory (such as corrugated iron roof, crossbars, etc.).
• Wall and partition system: This part not only has the function of shielding and protecting goods, machinery, etc. inside; but also supports the factory frame to bear the load.
• Ceiling system: This is the part that fixes the base plate so that the force from the corrugated iron roof, factory frame, etc. is evenly distributed.
• Roof and solar panel system: This is the part that helps provide energy for all activities in the factory.
• Heat balance system: This part helps maintain a stable temperature in the factory.
• Door and window system: This is the part that helps ventilate and serves the process of workers entering and exiting the factory.
• Drainage and wastewater treatment system: This part helps ensure hygiene due to production activities in the factory.

Necessary details of a standard factory

Application of factory span

The concept of factory span is widely applied in the following projects:

• Industrial parks, enterprises.
• Factory.
• Train station.
• Bridge.
• Road.
• Airport.

Notes when choosing factory span

To determine the exact factory span, the investor must comply with the following principles:

• Width of the factory: This is the factor that directly determines the span of the architecture and the distance between the supporting columns.
• Load requirements: There are two basic types of loads: dynamic loads (from equipment, machinery, goods, workers, …) and static loads (from columns, roofs, roof frames, …). Based on that, the construction unit calculates the number of columns, the height of each column and the distance between them so that it is reasonable.

The size of the factory span depends on the load requirements

• Type of material: Currently, there are many different types of construction materials such as concrete, steel, etc. Accordingly, the larger the span, the more sturdy and durable the column material must be. Normally, steel is widely used when the construction unit designs the factory span to be flexible and durable.
• Depth of the factory: The ratio between the span and the depth of the architecture is often closely related. Specifically, when the depth of the factory increases, the span also needs to be expanded accordingly to ensure stability and the ability to optimize space.
• Standards in the construction area: At each factory construction site, there is a different list of standards for the height, length, width, etc. of the architecture. The construction unit must carefully study those regulations to determine the appropriate factory span.
• Natural factors: Calculating the factory span also depends on factors such as weather conditions, soil properties, etc. Because they determine the durability of the factory.

Conclusion

With  the information in the article, you may gain some  basic knowledge about factory span. This is a very important index in the construction of factories, industrial warehouses in particular, and  any architecture.