022012 product expert

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MODERN STEEL CONSTRUCTION ebruary 2012

ThE STEEL fabRICaTION ShOp is one area o the steelconstruction industry that has seen an evolution o technolo-gies paralleling any manuacturing or commercial enterprise inthe world.

But unlike common manuacturers, structural steel abrica-tion does not require mass production. In contrast to HenryFords assembly line, which was designed to produce millionso the same widgets annually, structural steel abricators arein the business o building skylines.

Structural steel abricators must manuacture to specicdrawings: one-o-a-kind construction, i you will. All the while,the abricator must adhere to exacting engineering criteria,saety standards and building codes.

The very uniqueness o the shop abrication process has ledto innovation. While perhaps not as dynamic as the assemblyline or making automobiles, technology certainly has playedan important role in advancing the steel construction industry.

a Look bck

Less than 40 years ago, the typical structural abricationshop had a much dierent look. The structural work was verylabor intensive, using equipment like portable magnetic drills,portable C-rame punch presses and radial arm drills.

No CNC or automated tool measuring in those days; it wasthe era o measuring tape, soapstone and tee square. Welding

was predominant, and much o it perormed on site during theerecting process.

Crane use was mandatory to move almost every structuralshape or section. Preliminary unctions such as the lengthy

process o sawing a section to length required exacting mea-

surement and employed cold saws or oxy/uel torches, whichrequired signicant grinding to clean the cut.

Then came the innovative tool called the Beatty Punch,which employed hydraulic presses in a semi-automated (nu-

merically controlled, or NC) system. This enabled a beam pro-le to be moved to the tool or hole making, rather than mov-ing the tool to the beam prole. The rst seeds o automationhad been planted.

a CNC Systems aroc to friction Cnges

Eeryting

As the steel construction industry moved orward into the1970s and 1980s, systems technology enveloped the structuralabrication shop. New electronic motors were employed, whichprovided precise positioning o even large columns. The rstcomputers were seen on the shop foor, pioneered by the HP85 and 9815 models on the rst Peddinghaus drill lines. Thus,the era o computer numeric control (CNC) technology wasushered in.

What exactly did CNC technology, or a systems approachto abrication, bring to the table? In a nutshell, it enabledthe hole making process to be ully automatedand moreimportantlyincreased accuracy and repeatability.

The bottom line or steel construction: welded connectionscould now be replaced by bolted connections, which were stillas strong but aster and easier to abricate and erect. Steel con-struction was beginning to boom as a result o this technology.

New electronic technologies streamlined old manual, labor-intensive methods to make the structural abrication shop more

productive, with the benet o increased CNC accuracy.

Meeting Cllenges

As we ocus on abrication shop foor manuacturing, it isevident that new technologies have always provided a bettermousetrap or the industry. A quick review o some abrica-tion shop challenges that were solved with todays technologiesshows how positively the industry has been aected.

Consider these three technologies that have eectivelychanged the ace o abrication shop production.Problem:Todays rolled steel sections are much higher tensile

strengthexceeding capacities on a typical beam punch line; addi-tionally, oversized abricated beams are used in some applications.

ThE EvOLUTION

Of fabRICaTION

Steel abrication acilities in the

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Solution: Drill line technology, such as the rst TDK models,introduced electronic measuring and positioning that enabled ast, ac-curate positioning, as well as aster hole making via drilling rather thanpunching the hole.

Fast orward to today where carbide drilling is employed on struc-tural drilling machines. Holes that once were drilled in nine seconds arenow processed in three seconds with carbide bits. Todays carbide drill

lines capitalize on precision electronic technology to dictate superiorpositioning speed, precise hole locations, and determine any mill toler-ance deviations in just tenths o a second. Todays modern drills also tap,countersink, and create slotted holes via milling. Problem: Todays steel construction methods require many copes,

interior cuts, weld access holes, dog bone congurations and other shapesthat require thermal cutting. The previous manual method requiredabout 10 steps including laying out the pattern with a measuring tape andsoapstone, lighting a torch, manually cutting, and then grinding it clean. Solution: Employing electronic principals o crisp beam position-

ing, thermal processing, and dynamic sotware, the automated beam cop-ing system was born.

Fast orward and the 10 steps were eliminated, the quality was perect,and the production was increased one hundredold. Plasma units, such asPeddinghaus Ring o Fire machine, employ plasma technologies or all-thermal cutting including copes, internal cuts, notches, cut os, mitersand even hole making in a one-pass process.

Problem: Laying out the beam detail onto any structural sectionalways required a skilled cratsman, accurate drawings, a correct measuringtapeand a sharpened soap stone. This job was always done manuallyand always created a production bottleneck in the t-up area. Multiplecratsman were required to keep up with production requirements. Solution: Todays modern BIM sotware carries all the detail or

each component o the building. The location or every connection plateand clip angle, identication numbers and weld symbols are normallyincluded in the data, which can be downloaded to the abrication equip-ment via a normal DSTV le.

Fast orward to 2011 and NASCC: The Steel Conerence in Pitts-burgh where two machine tool technologies were introduced that pro-

vide automated solutions to the age old problem o beam layout and t-up. In one, carbide scribe technology can be employed on all our beamsuraces in a drilling machine. The data is etched onto the steel beam. Itis eective, but can delay hole processing productivity on your machine.

Newer technology employs plasma arc writing o all the same lay-out/t-up data onto all suraces o the beam. This technology em-ploys a low voltage plasma arc that provides a clear, legible mark in

seconds, not minutes.

A quick review o some abrication shop

challenges that were solved with todays

technologies shows how positively theindustry has been aected.

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ebruary 2012 MODERN STEEL CONSTRUCTION


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MODERN STEEL CONSTRUCTION ebruary 2012

These three examples show how modern technology has changedthe entire ace o steel construction on the shop foor. With todaysnew equipment, one operator working in a sae, quality controlledenvironment can produce tonnages that in years gone by requiredmultiple laborers.

Fabrication shop foor technologiesspearheaded by the demandor higher tonnage production at lowered costscontinue to improvethe odds or steel in the battle o selecting a building material. Todaysadvanced sotware and modern machine tools are the weapons omass construction that bring competitive numbers when biddingprojects. Fast abrication leveraged by new technologies that urtheracilitates ast erection is setting the stage or increased market share,and thats good news or the construction industry.

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Gie Credit Were Credit is Due

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022012 product expert

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