Can a curved steel section reduce the cost of OEM products?


(Can a woodchuck chuck wood?)

While attending various trade shows either for OEM products like storage tanks, antennas, agricultural and construction equipment, etc.,  I regularly see where the use of a curved steel section—produced by beam bending, bar bending, angle bending, channel bending or any other section bending—could have reduced the cost of the equipment.

  • For example, I have seen a bar rolled the easy way (like a belt) welded to a steel bar rolled the hard way (like a washer) to form a curved angle segment.  This time-consuming and expensive part could have easily been produced by a simple curved structural angle.
  • We have worked with manufacturers of front end loaders on the redesign of the tubing assembly which holds the bucket on a front-end loader.  Curved 5 x 2 x ¼ tubes replace  an 11 piece weldment of straight tubes.  The new configuration saved money, provided greater visibility to the driver, and improved aesthetics.
  • Recently, an engineer from a national laboratory worked with us to design back-up curved tubes to support a dish for an antenna on top of a mountain in Namibia, Africa.  The current design called for straight struts to support the curved dish. Expensive welding procedures to be done by certified welders were required on site for the fabrication of the antenna. And the amount of welding was considerable. The new design with curved beams allows for shop fabrication and bolted assembly on top of the mountain.  The prototype curved tube was accepted. The new design also improved the rigidity of the antenna, an important benefit for the application.

Steel section bending may produce parts to improve your equipment and machinery.  Have your engineers work with our engineers to effect reduced design time, lowered costs, and improved appearance and functionality for the end user.

Can you use curved steel in your products?

George Wendt, President
Chicago Metal Rolled Products

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