Hi. I am looking at taking on a big contract job for welding steel tanks of various sizes. I am wondering if anyone could guide me in the right direction for finding a weld position or an alternative idea to my problem. The biggest tank i would be building is 8' tall 8' wide 33' long rectangle shaped. The weight of the heaviest one is 4.8 tons. My shop crane is 5 tons, but the trolley is to weak to handle safely rolling the tank and it is such a close height tolerance in my shop i would only be able to wrap the tank with 1 chain to roll it 90 degrees at a shot. I was wondering if anyone knew of a manufacturer that made a positioner to hold this tank horizontally to rotate 360 degrees due to the requirement of al welds being called for in the 1g position. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
The Flip-Rite from the Itnac Corporation (http://www.itnac.com) may be a product worth investigating. There are other manufacturers of similar products and even floor mounted version somewhat similar to conventional turning rolls. Unfortunately, I can't think of their names. Additionally you may be able to temporarily attach rounds to the ends or body of your tanks and use conventional rolls.
Here's another one (http://www.positurner.com)
Dave
By -
Date 10-11-2005 12:20
Try this for positioners. When I was with FMC, Inc. in Houston we used this company for all types of equipment.
www.mitrowskiwelding.com
sales@mitrowskiwelding.com
(800) 218-9620
(713) 943-8032
They have welding positioners, tank turning rolls, manipulators, etc.
You said all welds are spec'd to 1g? I think you should look into paying an engineer to possibly redesighn the weldment to spec all position construction, even if you have to change alloy or maybee process it may be cheaper to fabricate this way once as opposed to purchasing a large peice of equipment for a temp. contract job. as far as i know welds can be made equally strong in 3+4G does any one else agree?
Cbaron has a good point however, it all depends on how your contract is worked. If you are getting paid pro-rate or by hour, you may not need to spend money on new equipment. Just set them up in the 3-4G position and go. I personally preffer 1-G method due to the fact that your not having to fight with poor fit up. Its just alot easier when your working with large units.If your getting paid per unit and I bet you are roll those babys out and Get-R-Done!!!
Try looking at Mitrowski I think some one mentioned it before. They have good equipment and you may even look into renting a set of rollers. They offer rentals too.
Good Luck My Friend
Hi,
You also may want to try http://www.weldplus.com
they stock both new and welding positioning equipment for tank welding fabrication. Call them at 1-800.288-9414 or email them sales@weldplus.com. Call and ask for Pete or Paul.
The rent and sell the equipment. Easy to deal with as well.
Good luck!
Pandjiris makes some nice positioners. They are located in Missouri. Here is their website:
www.pandjiris.com/html/products.html
We also make a positioner, but It would be too small for your application. Here is our website for our other automated welding products:
www.gullco.com
Josh
You might try http://www.positurner.com/ Weld Plus had a used unit a few months ago, they have a unit well suited for a rectangle shape. It just hangs from the crane. Track Tred turn rolls may work as well but are costly.
Weld Plus 1-800-288-9414 may still have them or Mitrowski 1-713-943-8032 might as well, both are good houses for used equipment. Weld Plus tends to handle more of the automatic welding systems, like a manipulator, seamers or beam and circle welders.
Weld Plus has been good supplier for our company and we have used Mitrowski in the past. Both would be worth calling. sales@weldplus.com http://weldplus.com
