One of the most versatile tools in a fabrication or maintenance shop is the ironworker. What other machine in the shop has the flexibility that the ironwork does? In its earliest stage of development, the ironworker had three main features: a punch to make various sized holes in different thickness of either flat metal or angle iron, a flat bar shear for cutting metal up to about 24 inches in width, and an angle shear for cutting angle iron to any length. Eventually a notcher assembly is included on some ironworker machines.
Today’s ironworkers are a great improvement over the original designs and can include a much wider variety of tools and features. All these added attachments make this amazing machine even more versatile and productive so that it forms the backbone of many fabrications shops.
Some of the different types of attachments that can be used with the ironworker are: pipe/tube notching attachments, channel shear, channel die block, bar bender, bending back gauges, mechanical/electrical back gauges, bending/brake attachments, and CNC punching tables. The different types of attachments that can be used with each ironworker vary from one manufacturer to another and should be considered when choosing which ironworker will be the best fit for your shop.
Even more important than the available accessories are the safety features when you are looking for a machine. Your chosen ironworker should meet or exceed ANSI B11.5-1988 standards as set forth by the American National Standards Institute for its machine guards and other safety equipment.
In order to choose the correct capacity ironworker, it is essential to ascertain the maximum material thickness so that you can establish the tonnage range required for your punching application.
Another factor to consider is whether you need a single station (single cylinder) or dual station (dual cylinder) machine. A dual station ironworker can run one operation at the punching station while another one is running simultaneously at the shearing or notching station.
The ironworker is an integral part of most successful fabrication shops and commercial manufacturing facilities and has greatly reduced the number of man hours and effort needed to cut, shear, bend or punch steel sections. Simply put, adding an ironworker to your shop can significantly increase your profitability.
JMT offers ironworkers in a variety of configurations and sizes, with punching capacities ranging from 39 tons to 182 tons. Call us today at 855-773-7727 to get a quote on the versatile ironworker that’s right for you!
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