Improving Construction Costs With Industrial Structural Steel Fabrication
Smarter, interconnected buildings and cities is one of the key trends driving construction demand. Construction growth in the fourth industrial revolution, however, risks being slowed by rising costs and labor shortages. Industrial structural steel fabrication is a solution to both these issues. Pre-engineered metal buildings can significantly reduce the cost and complexity of a construction project.
While it is true that commercial and structural steel are often not interchangeable, industrial steel fabrication techniques have advanced with the aid of 3D and 5D building modeling software. More customization and design flexibility are possible while also retaining the high strength and fire and corrosion-resistant properties of industrial steel. Because expensive tooling technologies and a high level of expertise using them are required to prevent cracking, building structures pre-engineered by industrial steel fabrication experts are becoming popular.
Design customization
Pre-engineered buildings are not a one-box-fits-all solution. At the design stage, the client can have significant input into the final product, including fabrication design, materials, and processes. 3D metal fabrication software provides high flexibility in modeling and detailing. The design will also consider building codes and environmental factors.
Cost efficiency
From the blueprints, the industrial steel fabrication engineers cut and drill the steel beams, and weld them to order. The steel pieces are designed for easy assembly and each part is numbered. So at the construction site, the construction workers can easily assemble the complete structure. Leaving the structural steel fabrication to the experts and the assembly to the construction team saves on time and costs. The overall construction project time is shortened.
Structural integrity
Industrial steel has many advantages — foremost its durability and structural integrity. The steel can withstand exposure to high temperatures, chemical erosion, high loads, and so on. Since the processing with special tooling equipment and welding of components and parts is more challenging, the pre-engineered model assigns the processing to experienced professionals offsite.
Custom-fabricated structural steel beams can deliver cost efficiencies to construction projects while meeting even exact design needs. With advances in 3D building modeling and industrial structural steel fabrication techniques, pre-engineered construction design uses have expanded. Whereas structural steel was formerly mostly used in warehouse facilities, oil platforms, sports arenas, and other simple architectures requiring high strength, fire-resistant metals, today they are used in all forms of building design — office buildings, commercial centers, schools and so on. Industrial structural steel fabrication is no longer a trade-off of customization and flexibility for toughness and durability.
Share