Robotic Technology for Faster Steel Fabrication

Structural steel fabrication is very challenging since the expense of transporting such heavy material necessitates that contractors use fab shops from the local area. Any reasonably sized MSA has a collection of companies competing for the same projects. All these fabricators' costs are very much the same. Everyone basically pay the same for their structural sections and labor, so the only edge they can leverage is to get more efficient in their production.

An Ontario, Canada structural fabricator focuses on the needs of the power generation segment, fabricating large steel components."We do a lot more than just drill holes in beams," explains Jeff Lane, a manufacturing processes, maintenance and welding team leader.

The multiple tasks needed for complicated projects entails that the shop has to move structural steel workpieces from station to station - takes a lot of time and floorspace. Such inefficiencies motivated the operations supervisor that it's traditional fabricating process had to be abandoned in favor of the newest development in structural steel fabricating equipment that accomplishes all the operations, sequntially, in one run through the machine.. Cambridge stepped into the modern era with advanced technology plama cutting machinery. This has lead to dramatically reduced material handling, greater processing productivity and more precise fabrications.





The new plasma cutting fabrication system at ProFab follows lean-manufacturing principles, which aim to eliminate wasteful processes that do not add value. Clients pay a fabricator to drill bolt holes and slots in a beam, and, as long as the work is finished on time, they do not care how frequently a beam may move among stations on the shop floor. You could run it through the PythonX one time and it’s all done, or relocate it four times around the shop which sucks up you time, money and effort.

This new style of plasma cutting beam coping machine requires just one operator, and it programs itself for cutting each workpiece using part detailing data from a structural steel detailing model loaded into the machine. "Nobody is manually programming a PythonX so it understands where a slot is suppoed to be or how long the piece should be cut. All the information is transferred to the machine from the 3-D model," marvels Lane, manufacturing process manager.

This enhanced level of automation allows users of the new structural steel beam coping technology to capture revenue benefits because they achieve a greater volume of product without hiring extra personnel. There can also be a significant floorspace advantage. "Installing a PythonX allows you to eliminate multiple traditional machines, which took up significant square footage of the facility," says the operations manager. "Since this plasma cutting super-machine can perform the functions of five traditional machines you need a fraction of the floor space you used to use. Additionally, if a structural steel fabricator can streamline its material-handling process, it gives rise to advantages that can cascade accross the business. As an example, shop safety is enhanced because employees no longer move hefty steel beams around the shop. Used to be that while moving steel beams were a serious concern. Also, lowering worker effort in the preparation eliminates the most frequent source of mistakes and rework. Even relying on experienced workers to do the preparation, there is a chance your employee could layout the cuts incorrectly. Preparing a structural beam precisely not only makes assembly easier, but, means that the fitter doesn't have to true it up and make the pieces fit. "Finally, the PythonX is essential for creating a cost advantage over your competitors," concludes Lane. "If you’re taking too much space doing something, then that is inefficient. If you are doing too much material handling it’s a waste. If you have too many operators, you're not going to be able to compete."