Posted to News on 20th Sep 2007, 20:46
Suprarex cutting machine delivers versatility and precision
A fabricator in Germany has used an ESAB Suprarex oxy-fuel cutting machine to cut and prepare the edges of complex shapes for a bridge.
A major German civil engineering fabricator has been reaping the benefits of ESAB's Suprarex cutting machine in the fabrication of a giant steel bridge known as the Berliner Brücke. The 73m high, 650 tonne steel construction has two base piers that meet at a height of 35m and form an A-shaped gate above the road. The base piers are topped by the pylon peak where the cables are anchored. The openings, through which the diagonal cables were suspended, had to be cut into the steel plates with great precision.
The cutting task was very complex because ellipse-shaped inner contours had to be cut into complicated steel plates. For these highly demanding cutting tasks, the Suprarex portal cutting system was adapted to the company's specific requirements. Not only was a high-performance cutting machine required that was capable of working with thickness of up to 150mm, but also an extremely versatile oxy-fuel cutting unit. The Suprarex features a continuously turning three-burner unit with which any geometries can be realised with double-bevel grooves (Y- as well as V-grooves) by oxy-acetylene cutting. The other features of the portal cutting machine included a single oxy-acetylene cutting torch as well as plasma marking.
During the planning of the production process, ESAB's Columbus programming system proved to be very sophisticated and flexible. After a brief introduction, the customer was able to program the cutting processes required. The program, which was developed on a PC, was simply downloaded from the company network and processed at the cutting machine via the ESAB Vision controller. It was even possible to integrate easily complex geometries such as the ellipse cuts and bevel cuts in the program sequence.
High-precision work was required for the assembly of the peak of the pylon from individual components. Both side elements of the pylon were placed on the assembly bed in the workshop to insert the tubes, which were already equipped with flange and ribs, through the ellipses and then welded.
