Fabrication shops in Cleveland make their mark by providing quality work at cost-effective prices to companies. They produce components and other items according to their specifications. Over the years, the process of fabrication has become more complex and intense. The technology has shifted as computerization has raced to the fore. Among some of the latest forms of technology found in fabrication shops is CNC plasma cutting.
Over the Years
Plasma cutting first appeared as a tool for fabrication in the late 1950s. Its creators were the professional engineers working at Union Carbide Corporation. For cutting metal plate, they felt it had no peer. At that time, the plasma cutting systems focused almost exclusively on cutting stainless steel and aluminum plate. At the time, the perception was plasma cutting was best-suited heavy non-ferrous plate.
The 1960s saw further developments in this fledgling process. While CNC plasma cutting systems were still years ahead, metal fabrication shops in Cleveland began to work with newer systems. An improved process encouraged fabrication shops to try the equipment out in other ways to achieve specific goals. It was during this period that fabricators and others discovered how the newer version of plasma cutting systems could
1. Cut with ease into non-ferrous material to produce the increasingly complex shapes industrial concerns were beginning to demand.
2. To do so at a very fast rate
Both characteristic of the new plasma cutting systems improved the rate of production substantially for some fabricators.
Improvements and changes continued through into the late 1960s and on into the 1970s. They included a radial water injection (1968). It also became known for cutting thinner metals but still essentially remained the best means of cutting thick metal plate. Further development in the following decades reinforced its ability to handle both thicknesses. However, a defining moment came with the melding of CNC measures with the plasma cutting system.
CNC Plasma Cutting Systems: The End of Fear and Loathing
In the early years, CNC technology melded with plasma cutting systems created a certain sense of apprehension. For many, it was equipment too complex to comprehend. Highly trained and skilled technicians were required to ensure the equipment performed appropriately. Resetting took far too long. Every change seemed to require endless adjustments of the various parameters and other factors.
In the past decade, this has changed. Machines are high definition. They have touch screens, therefore reducing the number of buttons an operator needed to consider and push. They have become more user friendly reducing the amount of training someone must obtain to become a qualified operator. In Cleveland, such improvements and those to come, will ensure that the feeling of loathing and even fear of the CNC plasma cutting system is no longer felt by fabricators throughout North America.
