Blog posts of '2007' 'April'

Without some sort of internal support HSS material rolled / curved will result in a certain level of distortion. The faces of the material will try to concave, wrinkle and crush during the bending process. HSS reacts to the bending process by collapsing inward as a result of compression across the horizontal faces and the inside face of the material. Severity of deformation is increased when using thinner wall material and/or bending to tighter radii. Deformation of tube faces is also dependant on material sizes and direction of rolling (i.e. the Hard-way or the Easy-way) when bending rectangular tube steel. The inside face will deform more significantly when bending rectangular material the Easy-way versus the Hard-way. The outside face of the material will always deform the least regardless of bend direction. In extreme cases, certain faces may not only collapse inward, but can result in alternating inward and outward collapsing as larger wrinkles throughout the bend section. Albina Pipe Bending Co., Inc. has implemented an internal support system that reduces concavity, minimizes distortion, allows for tighter radii and reduced deformation and twist. By filling the void in tube steel’s interior, internal support restricts the amount that material can collapse, resulting in greatly reduced deformation using thinner walls to tighter radii when compared to materials bent without internal support. Internal Support is designed to provide higher quality bends to the end user by meeting your Architecturally Exposed needs. Albina Pipe Bending Co., Inc. feels strongly that bending options must be supplied to an end user. It is critical for end users to understand that increasing the wall thickness is a solution BUT NOT the only solution if you demand high quality HSS bends. It is important to Albina to provide customers with cost effective solutions by providing a number of bending options (i.e. roll bending with or without internal support, cold increment bending and hot increment bending) resulting in various end products.

Albina Pipe Bending Co., Inc. understands the impact that material availability and consistent material costs have on steel fabricators. We are in a current economy where structural steel required for a project is not always readily available and if it is available it may not be available at the originally quoted cost.

In a memo to valued customers dated March 19th 2007, Albina Pipe Bending has learned from a local steel service center, Lampros Steel:

“If you haven’t heard by now, prices for most steel products are going up- quickly. Scrap has been increasing in value dramatically in the past thirty days- and China is not a factor. In fact, China is out of the scrap market at present. Russia is seeing huge steel demand within their borders and has stopped exporting on the world market. Korea and Japan are busy-and-they are large scrap buyers.”

Marcus Lampros went on to indicate, “Where is supply heading? We have already seen signs of another shortage. Nucor has already cut back allocation to some fabricators and distributors. Small beams shouldn’t be a problem- large beams, especially 14” and 16”, will be hard to get.”

The advice from Lampros is, “do not panic! Wide Flange will stay high for the rest of the year-plan on it. Shortages will occur for certain, so make sure to lock up your steel when you get a job- and make sure the sized are available when you need them.”

To help avoid problems associated with material shortages and fluctuating steel costs Albina Pipe Bending feels that early interaction with subcontractors is essential. Steel fabricators should contact a qualified bending company early in a project- don’t hesitate to get an order placed. Bending companies, like Albina Pipe Bending, can purchase material and put it on hold at today’s costs which will hold pricing consistent and will insure that material is available when bending is required. This early involvement will also secure a spot on a benders production schedule which will also help reduce the bending lead-time.

Plan ahead and communicate with all key subcontractors! It will be the best way to avoid problems associated with material shortages and fluctuating material costs.

When a bending company, like Albina Pipe Bending Co., Inc., approaches a project, they need to know certain information if they are going to successfully produce what the customer requires. Albina Pipe Bending makes a practice of asking questions prior to the acceptance of a purchase order to avoid assumptions that could cost the customer or end user time and money. The following are key elements that should be discussed before any bids are issued for a project. What are you trying to bend? This may seem like an obvious question, but it isn’t always asked or answered. It is critical before starting any project to confirm: • What is the member shape (pipe, tube, angle, wide flange, etc) • What is the member size and thickness (weight) • What is the material type (A53, T304, A500, A36, etc.) How is the material oriented? It is critical to confirm and define how a structural member is bent. Poorly detailed drawings can be difficult to interpret easy-way vs. hard-way or flanges-in vs. flanges-out. What is the final application of the bent material? Most importantly, is the material AESS (Architecturally Exposed Structural Steel)? Unfortunately AESS means different things to different end users; there are no set definitions to what an AESS product should look like. To help create definition and clarity, Albina Pipe Bending provides distortion and deformation estimates for AESS projects. This helps to define “AESS” prior to a project beginning. Project schedule / lead-time are elements that are always best discussed as early as possible. When the bending company, like Albina Pipe Bending, is contacted at the beginning of a project, bending issues can be discussed and resolved early to avoid any costly delays. Issuing a purchase order early in a project to your bender will allow your project to be scheduled accordingly to meet or exceed delivery requirements. Communication is always the key element in anything. Find a bending company that you are comfortable with, has a high level of industry experience, customer service and capabilities is critical to the success of your bending project. Ask questions early and often, assume nothing! This will allow for cost savings, quality products and favorable outcomes.