Constructing steel buildings

[edit] Introduction

The manufacture of a steel building is a combination of engineering, draftsmanship, ingenuity, teamwork, know-how and manufacturing expertise. Some factories fabricate all the required building components ensuring they are compatible.

[edit] Optimising the process

Pre-engineered steel buildings engineers review the building drawings for accuracy and to obtain permissions.

Actual building production begins with the input of building specifications into CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machinery. The CNC machinery controls all machine features including feeds and speeds.

Components of steel buildings, such as I-beams, gutters and downpipes, sidewalls and end wall panels, and even standing seam roofs are systematically manufactured in designated areas called "lines" throughout the factory. Each manufacturing line completes a specific function, automated by the use of conveyors that move the components from station to station.

[edit] Manufacturing components

The construction of rafters and columns starts at a machine that cuts the centre of the rafter or column (like the center of the letter "H"). This component moves to a holding station waiting to move to a station where certified welders tack-weld flanges and webs in place to form rafters and columns. Next these components are fused together and the welds are then checked.

Roof and sidewall panels are fabricated from steel sheeting. Large coils of metal sheeting are placed in a machine for straightening. This sheet is then cut and passed through a roll former to give it the required shape.

Machinery automates the process by which custom trim is formed. The steel passes through a straightener and is then formed into the shape required for all trim components: rake trim, corner trim, jamb trim, head trim, base trim, eave trim, rake angle, base angle, gutter straps, downpipes and gutters.

The steel building components are then loaded onto trucks to be delivered to site.

--Uglyduckbc

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings

• Major cast metal components.
• Metal fabrication.
• Off-site prefabrication of buildings: A guide to connection choices.
• Stainless steel in construction.