Today fabrication shops need to be versatile and well rounded to do the work that their customers request. Even though the products made vary widely from shop to shop, plant the plant, and state to state, the welding and cutting processes that are used are typical in nature, and widely used across industry.

The main processes in the fab shop usually focus around cutting and welding operations.

Cutting is an important operation in the fab shop as it used to break down the raw material into smaller length components or different shaped parts for the product that needs to be built. Cutting can be done with mechanical tools called saws an/or shears.

Shears usually cut in a straight line and a saw is capable of cutting both straight and/or shapes depending upon the saw type. A saw can have a metal blade with teeth on it or it can use an abrasive type blade. The shear and saw are used to make smaller length or smaller shaped components. These two are the workhorses of our fab shop to break down larger pieces of raw material into smaller usable shapes and lengths.

Oxy fuel cutting is another process we see in fab shops. Oxy fuel cutting is limited to carbon steel. It is capable of cutting very thin and very thick steel. Oxy fuel cutting requires the use of compressed gases delivered in metal storage cylinders. The cost and safety associated with these flammable gasses can be of concern. This process can be automated for shape cutting, or can be done manually, like trimming the edge of a beam on a field job site. Acetylene, propane mapp and natural gases are just a few of the fuel gas options.

Plasma arc cutting is another popular process that works on most metals. Most of the current plasma systems use compressed air rather than compressed gas from cylinders, reducing the cost and increasing the safety of the cutting operation. Plasma cutting systems using  inverter power sources can be very small, lightweight, and portable adding to their attractive nature.

The fact that they cut most industrial metals also adds to their popularity. Steel, stainless steel, aluminum, magnesium, copper, nickel and titanium are just a few of the materials that plasma arc cutting can handle. Longevity offers a complete line of plasma cutting systems to meet your most every need.

Another process used by shops that work with heavier plate and pressure vessels is Air Arc Cutting. Air arc cutting also uses compressed air as opposed to gas in cylinders. The compressed air is focused between a copper coated carbon electrode and the molten puddle of the base material formed by the arc.

Also, air arc cutting uses the same power source we use for GTAW and SMAW welding, so with an air compressor, copper coated carbon electrodes, and the correct torch, our constant current power source used for Stick and TIG is capable of gouging and cutting in various applications.

One consideration when using any or all of these cutting processes is safety. All these processes produce a large quantity of sparks and in some cases can fly a significant distance. Be sure that the environment that you're doing this work in is prepared to handle it. Doing this in your garage with a lot of cardboard boxes, pieces of wood or baskets of laundry waiting for the washing machine is a bad combination and could cause a fire.

Anytime we do this work always monitor the area for 15 to 30 minutes after we're done to make sure a stray spark has not gone under something or into something that's going to smolder and light up later. I have worked on field job locations where no welding, cutting or anything of that type was allowed 30 minutes prior to the end of the day, for the purposes of fire safety. Always keep a fire extinguisher in the immediate area just in case anything were to happen.

Check out the Longevity website (www.longevity-inc.com) or YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/longevitywelding) for more details and information about equipment for different welding and cutting processes. Longevity has the right machine for your exact application, so take a look and choose what is the best fit for your materials, product and needs.