Old Cast Iron Coal Furnaces

BigBarney wrote: Most castings have been eliminated in industry if possible for the much less costly

steel fabrications which have a huge price advantage in low volume production.

Volume is the key and I doubt if it is there.
BigBarney

Indeed, and the advent of laser and plasma cutters along with modern welding methods and other CNC tooling allows the fabrication of very complex assemblies that almost "snap-lock" together straight out of the CAD software.

However, when you take all those nice, accurate laser cut parts and weld them together, without good technique and fixturing, you can end up with a real banana due to all the weld distortion pulling parts this way and that.

If the welding is done properly there will be very little if any distortion. A good fitter & good welder when given the time don`t have any problem with distortion.

samhill wrote:If the welding is done properly there will be very little if any distortion. A good fitter & good welder when given the time don`t have any problem with distortion.

Very true. However, in the construction of certain weldments that aren't optimized for welding but rather the end task, weld distortion due to having too much weld on one side and little if any on the other side can do some amazing tricks.

I have the pleasure of trying to assemble forklifts with the frames we produce, and even with multi-million dollar fixturing and tooling, distortion from the weld process has to be fought continually so all the parts that go on the frame fit properly. It's neat to see what 400 amps using .065 wire can do to 1/2" thick plate steel.....