When someone from Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry, the largest science center in the Western Hemisphere, asks about bending aluminum tubing, any metal fabricator familiar with the museum would surely ask about the application–if not out of curiosity, at Read more…
Month: November 2011
Kevin
Plate Rolling
May 22, 2016
We were recently contacted by a customer for steel plate rolling that required multi-radius bending. Optimation was making a 10-foot-tall sculpture that replicated their logo, two O’s leaning against each other at an angle. Their design was for hollow stainless Read more…
Dan
Applications, Bending
May 22, 2016
Parabolic Bending of Steel The shape of Chicago’s new North Halsted Bridge’s top arch is defined by the equation of a parabola. While that may sound complicated, the parabolic trajectory is simply the path that any water fountain, thrown ball, Read more…
Kevin
Angle Bending
May 22, 2016
When specifying how to roll an unequal-leg angle ring or segment, indicate whether the angle is rolled leg-in or leg-out and which leg is rolled leg-in or leg-out. For example, a 5 x 3 angle could be rolled 5 inch Read more…
George
Industry News
May 22, 2016
The pundits tell us that the numerous television debates in this presidential cycle have been more important than in the past, more important perhaps than the retail politics of giving speeches, shaking hands and kissing babies. So what are the Read more…
George
Beam Bending, Bending
May 22, 2016
The curved steel in these Hummer dealerships function as a simple—but high impact—architectural element. Unlike “big box” retail structures, these buildings use curved steel as their primary roof structure. The interiors of these dealerships often have archtecturally exposed structural steel (AESS) which creates dramatic Read more…
Mo
Pipe Bending
May 22, 2016
At the beginning it was not at all clear that we would be bending pipes for the top pieces of a guardrail at the Hollywood Casino in Toledo, Ohio. When our customer was bidding this job, they wanted us to Read more…
Dan
Plate Rolling, Rolling Limitations
May 22, 2016
When performing steel plate rolling and bending of higher strength steels, you will have two main considerations: 1. The tonnage/capacity of the machine 2. The spring back of the material after pressure is released The tonnage is fairly linear in proportion with Read more…
Dawn
Bending, Tee Bending
May 22, 2016
Several steel mills produce small structural steel tees in sizes from ¾” to 2-1/2” which can be purchased at many steel warehouses. Tees can be rolled stem-in, stem-out or stem-up. Larger size tees are made by splitting a structural beam, Read more…
