Lighthouse Steel Tower Fabrication

The job

A load-bearing steel tower for a tower-type lighthouse: rolled tubular segments, drilled flange plates at both ends of each segment for the site connection, internal ring stiffeners at intervals, and an integrated vertical ladder with a safety cage running to the top. The photo shows a finished, painted segment lying horizontally on the shop floor with its internal structure visible.

Why it is a demanding piece

Three requirements pull at once. Geometry: the roundness of the shell and the squareness of the flanges must stay within tolerance, or the holes of stacked segments will not line up on site and the tower will lean. Wind and fatigue: a tall thin-walled tube sways under wind; ring stiffeners keep the shell from buckling, and the flange and weld details are designed for repeated loading. Corrosion: the structure spends its life in salt-laden air, which calls for a paint system matching the most severe atmospheric categories of EN ISO 12944 and extra care at edges and welds.

How it was built

• Plates were cut to the design diameter and rolled into tubular sections; the longitudinal seams were full-penetration welds.
• Flange plates were cut and drilled, then welded to the shell with squareness checks; mating flanges were drilled from a common template so the holes match on site.
• Internal ring stiffeners, ladder brackets and the safety cage were fitted inside the shell and painted together with it.
• Surfaces were blast-cleaned and a multi-coat system (zinc-rich primer, intermediate, topcoat) was applied in the shop; segments were prepared for shipping with their flanges.
• Segments were match-marked for crane stacking and bolted flange assembly on site.

Result

The tower was completed as segments that assemble on site with bolted flanges and no field welding; the internal ladder and cage make maintenance access available the day the tower stands. The project data sheet (location, height, number of segments, weight, delivery date) will be added when the firm's form arrives.