Bump up Ironworkers’ Efficiency and Accuracy

Adding semi or full automation can save time, create precision parts, and reduce operator fatigue

Piranha with TigerStop automation.

Addition of full automation to an ironworker can increase throughput and accuracy. Photo courtesy of TigerStop.

Punching a hole, shearing a bar, and cutting a length of angle are tasks perennially assigned to ironworkers. But in many of today’s fabricating shops, the role of these workhorses is expanding.

Ironworkers are being integrated into fabrication cells where they punch a series of holes in a single piece of metal or cut to length a number of pieces for a project. Accuracy can become more important with multiple features or pieces, and measuring and marking to ensure that accuracy can require an experienced operator and time.

“Statistically, seven out of 100 manually marked parts are incorrect,” said Scott Brode, central regional sales manager at TigerStop. “And it’s not uncommon for an operator to spend three to five minutes marking five holes on a 20-foot piece of material.”

Automation that can be incorporated into new or existing ironworkers was an option that Piranha wanted to offer fabricators that are ready to get more from their equipment, according to Marlin Farr, account manager at MegaFab. Farr said, “We had some basic automation available but wanted to offer fabricator additional options to provide them with more efficiency. Adding a level of automation can turn parts made on an ironworker into high-precision parts. Measurements can be accurately repeated for multiple parts.”

That prompted a collaboration between TigerStop and MegaFab that resulted in fully automatic and semi-automatic packages that can be integrated with a new Piranha ironworker before it ships or added to most ironworkers in service on any shop floor.

Tale of Two Companies

Tim Krase, MegaFab technical sales adviser, explained what prompted the company to reach out to TigerStop for the joint effort: “We wanted to partner with a company that would provide a robust system to go with robust ironworkers. It had to have good customer support and after-sale service. We also wanted to work with a system that included a fairly simple-to-operate control that could interface with our system. TigerStop was at the top of our list.”

Brode said, “It was exciting working with MegaFab. They knew what their market needed on the punching side. We had a very good feeling for what the market needed on the positioning side. Working together, we were able to create kits that not only go onto new machines, but that can be retrofitted to existing machines.”

The development process started with TigerStop providing versions of its SawGear® positioners and tables to Piranha to experiment with and determine what could best integrate with the ironworkers and what adjustments would need to be made to the size and shape of the positioners. During step two, shipping was reversed. Piranha sent the ironworker with the positioner back to TigerStop for integration with the punching station.

As with all R&D, some areas were more difficult to resolve than others. “Some of the biggest challenges were in setting up a positioner without blocking the other processes with a table and large machine,” said Brode. “Another challenge was developing a holder, a material guide, for punching angle iron. But we developed the capability, with our engineers working in conjunction with MegaFab’s engineers. Fabricators can load a piece of angle with the length facing down and move the material without a pinch point and without having to walk away from the guide.”

The prototypes were completed within about four months, and the product was first introduced at FABTECH® 2016.

Semi-automated Piranha ironworker.

A semi-automated ironworker can prevent most marking errors. Photo courtesy of TigerStop.

Levels of Automation

When the semi-automatic SawGear option is integrated with an ironworker, the operator enters a length into the controller, places the material against the stop that has moved to the correct position, and presses start. An angled pusher arm can be adjusted for the bar shear, angle shear, and round bar workstations.

“With the semi-automatic, the operator is actually pushing the material and inputting data to the controller between each step,” said Farr. “The operator can get a rough measurement with his tape measure, tell the controller what that piece measured, and from there it is calibrated and ready to go.”

The fully automated TigerStop option can push, pull, or position the material, giving the ironworker the capabilities of a fully automated shearing and punching machine. The automated positioner package includes the stop, back fence, table, and an Advanced Interconnect Kit (AIK2). An upgrade includes cut list downloading capabilities, dynamic optimization for increased material yield, and touchscreen software.

“It’s tough for an operator to move steel all day. It’s fatiguing, and fatigue makes it easier for mistakes to happen,” said Brode. “Mismarked, mispunched, or incorrect material positioning can occur. Errors like that are typically not caught until later on in the manufacturing process.”

The upgrade package allows the positions and/or quantity of punches to be entered on the controller at the ironworker or downloaded from the PC package. The operator places the material, initiates the program, and then the automation moves the material, performs the process, and repeats the steps until the part is completed.

Successful Collaboration

The collaboration between the two companies is working for fabricators who still use ironworkers as stand-alone units and those who are integrating them into cells. The ironworker automation can take the majority of the prep and setup work out of the job and eliminate the little things that can happen to interfere with production of a perfect part. It can increase throughput and accuracy and help prevent operator fatigue from material handling that can lead to errors or accidents.

Brode said, “The ironworker automation has taken the setup time to almost zero. We’ve seen productivity gains between 7 and 20 per cent. Tolerance has also gone up—accuracy is amost 100 per cent.”

The full or semi-automation is available for most ironworkers that handle material from 70 to 3,000 lbs.

MegaFab, 800-338-5471, www.magafab.com

Piranha, a division of MegaFab, 620-663-1127, www.piranhafab.com

TigerStop, 360-254-0661, www.tigerstop.com

About the Author

Sue Roberts

2135 Point Blvd

Elgin, IL 60123

815-227-8241

Sue Roberts, associate editor, contributes to both Canadian Metalworking and Canadian Fabricating & Welding. A metalworking industry veteran, she has contributed to marketing communications efforts and written B2B articles for the metal forming and fabricating, agriculture, food, financial, and regional tourism industries.

Roberts is a Northern Illinois University journalism graduate.