OT: apropos nothing, I just thought this looked kewl

What are we seeing, is metal wicking under and making a joint?

Do you have any pics of the "little torch robot" ?

These systems are old technology.

Bug-o is only one of several brand names. The flame cut shown is acceptable but a more efficient cut is done when a swivel end is put on the torch and the lower corner is bevelled. The torch directs the heat into the edge of the plate where it is needed rather than spilling the heat into the air. The slag is blown clear or rolls onto the scrap then falls to the floor rather than hanging onto the main plate. It would be interesting to see what process is used to fill the joint after fit-up. When you bevel prep large joints a slight increase in bevel will result in a massive amount of filler material being used. This translates into extra time, material costs, and possible distortion problems. Randy

I didn't participate in the setup of this or anything, but they did let me take pictures - I thought it was kewl the way the slag looks just like lava. :-)

The guy that was running the little torch robot looked at the cut and the slag, and said, "Perfect!" I was proud for him. :-)

Cant' understand why they need such a tight tolerance on a weld prep, however. ?:-/

Cheers! Rich

The flame is cutting a chamfer, formally known as a "weld prep", so that when they weld it to the other piece they can get "full penetration." The torch on its carriage is moving slowly to the right, (you can see the rails), and the glowing crap that's kind of slumping on the left is slag.

Here's some more, hopefully this helps:

for an idea of the size of these parts: And here's a PDF of a sketch I drew - I told PDF995 to print it "landscape" on 11 x 17, so it comes up sideways: I didn't _design_ the thing, just copied the customer's prints but did the isometric views. Or, had Autocad do the isometric views. :-)

It's the pivot for a radiotelescope, much like the one in the background of the client's website:

can't see the pivot- it's at the intersection of the post and the back of the dish, but you can see the counterweights. We also welded up the counterweight supports.

Admittedly, there's not much on the web site, but I have to write it, and I can't find the brochure pictures. )-;

I guess the boss is happy that the email link works. ;-)

Cheers! Rich

Well, it's not exactly a "robot", more like a "tractor", or, as I've dubbed these pix, a "truck" (thinking of the wheel things on rail cars):

The track is leaning up against the ladder.

Cheers! Rich

I went out yesterday and got a snap of Doug baby-sitting the flame cutter:

Cheers! Rich