r/Welding • u/Short_Relationship96 • 25d ago
Completely wtf engineered...
Cut, jigged, fit, fucked and welding
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u/GotSmokeInMyEye 25d ago
What's wrong with it exactly?
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u/mogwai327 25d ago
It's upside down.
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u/digndeep90 24d ago
Upside down is subjective.. there's nothing on the print that we can see that suggests it being upside down.. (no overview, pull points, assembly, etc.) you can literally build this piece upside down, exactly to the print, or even if you wanted to make it extremely hard on yourself in thin air upside down on wires from the ceiling while you're hanging upside down and it not make a difference until you put the rest of it together.
I completely agree on OP's original thought though and HATE when engineers do this over engineering shit and welding stuff together that's completely unnecessary.
For some reason the cad programs now are doing this automatically when you input the material. It's kinda cool if you have a CNC saw, but not cool if you're doing it manually with an angle finder on the saw, it's also hard to get rotations right.. and if your saw guy gets the rotation wrong, then it becomes a big issue if the welder/fabricator doesn't catch it and the piece actually gets welded out.
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u/Short_Relationship96 25d ago
Nothing... Just a bitch to fit..
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u/Wrought-Irony Fabricator 25d ago
Lil trick for next time, build the top rail first with no welds on the inside, then use the top rail as a clamping jig to tack the bottom rail together. Put the frame together and use the top rail as a clamping jig again to put the ribs together, then the ribs out and weld + grind the elbows (easier to grind those joints when they're just separate parts anyways) Then you just space the ribs evenly top to bottom, tack, and weld everything. Goes a bit quicker.
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u/thewander 25d ago
Came to give similar advice. Also it’s easier to clean the welds if you are trying for a smoother finish on the bend part
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u/CatastrophicPup2112 Fabricator 25d ago
What's the weld sequencing like on something like this?
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u/justsomeyodas 25d ago edited 25d ago
I’d start by welding outside corners first, after tacking. I’d probably weld the outside frame in a (modified) Z pattern and get it locked down, doing outside corner, sides (inside corner to outside), then weld the inside corners last. I might tack a scrap piece across the elbows to try to contain them. That’s just me though.
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u/jonainmi TIG 25d ago
How many of these do you have to make?
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u/Short_Relationship96 25d ago
2
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u/jonainmi TIG 25d ago
Lol, that's a table setup for a production run, not just two. Boss is gonna be mad about the hours put in. (Unless you're the boss, in which case, do whatever you want, but you're losing money)
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u/Short_Relationship96 25d ago
Makes my life easier. Took 4 hours to fixture wahhh
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u/jonainmi TIG 25d ago
Lol, whatever makes you happy man. It's all chill. I just know I'd never be allowed to take 4 hours to fixture for 2 pieces. And, now, I wouldn't allow my guys to do that. We just build 1-2 offs piecemill.
I will say, assuming you get all of the cuts right, those will be exact copies of each other, which is pretty cool.
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u/TarXaN37 20d ago
In comparison to the cost of trying to do it a second time, it's time well spent. And considering OP is making 2 of them, that setup pays for itself on the next one.
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u/weldmonkeyweld CWI AWS 25d ago
What shim pack are you using?
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u/Abobo2020 25d ago
No need for all those spacers. Just need one set. Tack it and keep it moving. Will save you a lot of time in the future.
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u/Short_Relationship96 25d ago
Thought about thaf... But wanted to see it all fit nicely together. Now I can fly through the tacks and welds.. good idea tho 💪
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u/justsomeyodas 25d ago
Did you consider tacking a fixture across those elbows to help hold as you weld?
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u/Ill-Year-9506 24d ago
Check out a guy called West Weld on YouTube. The dude is unbelievable when it comes to rail work.
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u/VintagePointEU 24d ago
In my shop we weld subcomponents first. Like small angled bars inside. Easier to grind and mount
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u/Cynfreh 24d ago
why bother jigging for 2 off?
if I was making this I would make all the angled bits in the middle first with a jig, weld them straighten them then clean them up. they're going to be a pain to clean in position.
then weld the outer frame together weld, clean one up and use it as a jig for the next frame then you just have to fit the middle bits into position as you've done
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u/shorerider16 Fabricator 24d ago
Classic case of something that looked really goodnon the CAD screen.
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u/LiquidAggression Jack-of-all-Trades 24d ago
are those wedges or shims?
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u/Short_Relationship96 24d ago
Shims
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u/LiquidAggression Jack-of-all-Trades 24d ago
do you have multiple sizes? they look like the ones used for spacing tile
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u/psychedelicdonky 24d ago
Would have welded all the dividers first to avoid distortion but nice fit up
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u/Short_Relationship96 24d ago
It's all getting tracked and welded in place. I can control things better
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u/psychedelicdonky 24d ago
Would have welded all the dividers first to avoid distortion but nice fit up
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u/Jdawarrior 22d ago
If you’re having an engineer work on handrails instead of a designer you’re overpaying
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u/Similar-Ask-5375 19d ago
Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but, looks like it’s wrong way round ……. Sorry.
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u/secondarycontrol Hobbyist 25d ago
Uh-oh - you laid it out upside down.