The production facilities of Voortman Steel Construction are highly automated, thanks to the machines of its sister company Voortman Steel Machinery. Early next year, Voortman will take another step forward by taking into use a fully automated welding system, called The Fabricator.
The Fabricator has of course been designed and produced by Voortman Steel Machinery. The system consists of a base frame, three welding robots and one handling robot. An overhead crane places the steel beam into the so-called profile rotators, which are able to rotate the beam 270°. A shuttle delivers the plates to the robots, which measure the profile before welding the plates together. This welding system offers important advantages, such as:
The Fabricator was built and thoroughly tested at the Voortman Experience Center. During the company visit of the Dutch sector organization ‘Bouwen met Staal’ in April of this year, the system was presented to the public. Meanwhile, The Fabricator has been moved to the production hall of Voortman Steel Construction, where the final test phase is effected. After the system has passed these tests successfully, it will be taken into production. This will probably be early next year.