Automating miscellaneous metal fabrication with the RoboRail

Miscellaneous metal fabrication can be a tedious part of fabrication. You have to be precise; you have to be accurate, or things just won’t fit. Traditionally stair stringers would be laid out using a soapstone, pipe would be processed in a cold saw and then nudged in a punch press. Together with Automated Layout Technology, HGG created the RoboRail with the aim to transform the production process of miscellaneous metal. The all-in-one plasma cutting machine changes the entire fabrication process making it a streamlined production instead of a continues process of manually having to create one-off pieces. Stephan Chasse of SL Chasse Steel: “You are going to get 3 times more product out in the same amount of time using a machine like the RoboRail. 3-times product. 3-times volume. 3-times more money really is what it comes down to.”

SL Chasse Steel, a structural steel fabricator and miscellaneous metal fabricator based in Hudson, New Hampshire, was one of the first companies to incorporate the machine into their production process. Stephan Chasse, President and owner of the company: “We now produce miscellaneous metal just like we do structural steel. All our fittings, all our parts are fabricated beforehand using the RoboRail. If for example, we will produce a railing we can now make sure that the parts are already cut. The holes are already there. Our fitters will use the Lightning Rail to layout a railing, take all the pieces and parts from the RoboRail, build it right there on the Lightningrail. Fabricate. Get it off the bench and continue on.”

Straight from your modelling software to fabrication

RoboRail accepts files directly from SDS/2, TEKLA, STEP, and various other modeling software to automate the cutting process, dramatically reducing process times while eliminating human error and fabricators’ reliance on skilled employees. Chasse: “Anything you can get things done faster than by doing it by hand, it’s a big deal. This machine gets it done faster than any machine. It is so fast. It is correct which is a big deal also. As long as your drawings are correct it will process it correctly. The machine does only what the drawings tells it to do. And it gets it done correctly. It gets it done right.

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Transforming tedious work into a streamlined production

Miscellaneous fabricators have a set of challenges that require automation. Every item can be a unique one-off piece whether it be your stair stringers, pipe for your railings or channels for your headers. A common misunderstanding with fabricators is that this makes automation impossible. At HGG we believe that this is exactly what makes automation so important. Letting the RoboRail be the workhorse in your shop and let your craftsmen focus on what they do best.

“At SL Chasse Steel we realized quickly that we could fabricate misc. metals just like we do structural steel. So we can get all our parts done first. Get all our stringers done first. We can process al our pipe first. And then feed the fitters just like we would do in structural steel. And it’s the same philosophy. You can get a large amount of product out quickly and done correctly by using a machine like this. You are going to get 3 times more product out in the same amount of time using a machine like the RoboRail. 3-times product. 3-times volume. 3-times money. That’s really what it comes down to.”

> Watch the video of the Case Study on Youtube.

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