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Although on a smaller scale than the devastation caused by the recent tornadoes in Oklahoma, in Greensburg, Kansas, on May 4, 2007, a tornado destroyed the Big Well Museum and Gift Shop as well as the nearby water tower. No longer could visitors descend the stairway 109ft into the cavern of the world’s largest hand-dug well. The . . . → Read More: A Spiral Staircase for the Largest Hand-Dug Well   Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and structural steel fabricators subcontract work to companies that specialize in bending and curving steel. Roller/Benders have the equipment, the methods and the machine operators that can produce high quality curved metal parts on time with competitive pricing. Where do Bender/Rollers find the machine operators to run the section benders, plate rolls and other . . . → Read More: Bending and Rolling Steel: Where to Find Machine Operators Curved tubing is becoming increasingly popular in building design, and the introduction of a new grade of tubing may increase its usefulness. As you know, HSS refers to hollow structural sections – round, square and rectangular. A new HSS specification, ASTM A1085, was announced at the North American Steel Construction Conference (NASCC) in St. Louis on April . . . → Read More: Curving a New Grade of Tubing: A1085 And the first to incorporate cold bending of steel, and the first vertical-lift bridge to tuck its machine rooms under the bridge. A triply innovative play! Designed by Theodore P. Zoli, the first structural engineer to win a MacArthur “Genius” Award, this truss bridge eliminates the gusset plates typically used to connect beams and girders to columns . . . → Read More: The First Gussetless Truss Bridge in the World The Midwest (and beyond) has been plagued by months of drought followed by severe floods causing evacuations, limiting barge traffic on its rivers, and disrupting farmers’ planting schedules. And it may not be over yet: additional rain may cause rivers to remain high into May. Both cities and rural areas have suffered. Steel fabricators provide part of . . . → Read More: Of Floods, Droughts and Floodgates To develop the blank flat length for a cylinder rolled from sheet or plate is quite simple: Essentially, you should calculate the centerline arc: (Outside Diameter – Thickness) x 3.1416 = Length of Plate Required (Inside Diameter + Thickness) x 3.1416 = Length of Plate Required Note: Additional plate may be required depending on the material thickness and the machinery . . . → Read More: How to Develop the Blank Flat Length for a Cylinder Bender/Rollers, those companies that specialize in curving structural steel, steel sheet and steel plate, often supply rolled steel and metal shapes to equipment manufacturers as component parts. These original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) turn to Bender/Rollers precisely because their make-or-buy analysis indicates they should buy these parts. Given that Bender/Rollers will supply many parts to OEMs, what measures or metrics should . . . → Read More: Rolled Steel Shapes Supplied to Equipment Manufacturers – What Should be Measured? There are several solutions to the challenges of shipping curved steel sections. The challenges include safe loading of the trucks, ensuring timely delivery, and keeping costs low. There is a large range of sizes of curved steel: from eight-inch diameter angle flanges to W44 x 290# wide flange beams 100ft long. The former can be shipped by . . . → Read More: Ways to Reduce the Cost of Shipping Curved Steel Sections By definition, a job shop produces specialized products in relatively small batches, and this is true of companies who specialize in rolling steel sections. Such companies often develop a variety of customers who turn to these bender/rollers for their expertise in bending structural steel, steel plate and steel sheet. One type of customer orders a “one-off,” that . . . → Read More: Rolling Steel Sections as a Job Shop and as a Contract Manufacturer Those of us who work with steel should always strive to eliminate waste in our operations. Some call this approach “lean manufacturing” or “just in time manufacturing.” Whatever you call it, it can contribute to your productivity. Sometimes we don’t pay enough attention to how we receive steel in our plant. We might be focusing too much . . . → Read More: Best Practices in Shipping and Receiving Structural Steel |
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