Fabrication technology and materials, by process step
What actually builds a machine frame, in the order it happens: cutting, welding, stress relief, machining — and the material families each one is chosen against. These are ranges available across the partner network, not one shop's equipment list. The shop that quotes your drawing confirms what it runs on your geometry.
Cutting technology
The first operation on plate, and the one that sets how much stock the weld and machining stages have to clean up afterward.
| Process | Plate range | Edge quality | Typical use on a frame |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oxy-fuel | 10 – 200 mm | Wide kerf, heat-affected edge | Heavy plate over ~60 mm where plasma and laser stop being economical. |
| Plasma | 3 – 50 mm | Moderate kerf, some bevel on thick plate | General structural plate cutting — the default for weldment blanks. |
| Fiber laser | 1 – 25 mm | Narrow kerf, square edge, minimal HAZ | Ribs, gussets and brackets where edge quality reduces fit-up work. |
| Waterjet | 1 – 150 mm | No heat-affected zone | Hardened plate, or a profile that cannot tolerate any thermal distortion. |
| Band saw | Bar and billet stock | Square, no thermal effect | Blanking bar stock for machined components before welding. |
Cut method rarely appears on a drawing and usually does not need to — call out the finished edge condition instead (square, deburred, chamfered) and let the shop pick the process that gets there.
Welding processes
The joint and the material decide the process, not the other way round. Naming the wrong one on a drawing just gets ignored or re-quoted.
| Process | Also called | Typical joint on a frame | Why it is chosen |
|---|---|---|---|
| GMAW | MIG | Long structural fillet and groove welds | Fast deposition on carbon steel plate — the bulk of a weldment's linear footage. |
| FCAW | Flux-cored | Thick-section structural welds, outdoor or draft-exposed shops | Higher deposition than solid-wire MIG on heavy plate; more tolerant of a less clean shop environment. |
| SAW | Submerged arc | Long straight seams on thick plate | Highest deposition rate and the cleanest weld metal, where the joint geometry allows it — flat, straight runs. |
| GTAW | TIG | Root passes, thin section, stainless | Precision and appearance over speed. Root pass on a critical joint, or thin-wall stainless sheet. |
| SMAW | Stick | Field repair, awkward access | No shielding gas needed — used where the joint cannot be reached by a gas-shielded process. |
Weld sequence matters more than process choice for distortion on a large frame — see distortion control on large weldments.
Post-weld stress relief
| Method | Envelope | What it does | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thermal (furnace) | Network furnaces to 8 × 3 × 3 m | Heats the weldment to relieve residual stress across the whole section uniformly. | Longer cycle, and frames over the furnace envelope cannot use it — vibratory or a split sequence instead. |
| Vibratory (VSR) | No practical size limit | Vibrates the weldment at a resonant frequency to relieve stress without heat. | Less effective on very thick sections than furnace treatment; cheaper and faster for most machine bases. |
Full comparison and when to specify one over the other: stress relieving welded machine bases.
Large-envelope machining equipment
A weldment or casting is finish-machined on equipment sized for the part, not a standard vertical machining center — this is the capability most shops outside the network lack.
| Equipment | Typical envelope | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Gantry-type machining center | Beds to 6+ m travel, moving gantry over a fixed table | Long ways, crossrails and gantry beams — one setup across the full length. |
| Floor-type boring mill | Large fixed table, horizontal spindle with facing head | Bores, mounting faces and bolt patterns on heavy bases and columns. |
| 5-axis machining center | Mid-size envelope, simultaneous 5-axis motion | Compound angles and one-setup finishing on complex castings. |
| CNC vertical lathe (VTL) | Large-diameter faceplate | Round bases, rotary tables and turned flanges beyond a standard lathe swing. |
More on matching part envelope to the right machine class: machining large weldments on boring mills and gantry centers.
Material families
Grade-to-grade cross-references are on the standards reference. This is the family-level choice — what the frame is built from and why — made before a specific grade is even on the drawing.
| Family | Typical grades | Chosen when |
|---|---|---|
| Welded carbon steel plate | Q235, Q345, A36, A572 | Lowest cost and shortest lead time; the default for most machine bases and weldments. |
| Gray / ductile cast iron | HT250, HT300, ductile 65-45-12 | Better vibration damping than welded steel; needs pattern tooling, so favors repeat production over a one-off. |
| Mineral casting (epoxy granite) | Polymer concrete composite | Highest damping and thermal stability; used on precision and metrology frames where dynamic stiffness matters more than raw strength. |
| Aluminum plate / weldment | 5083, 6061 | Weight-sensitive frames — portable equipment, moving gantry axes — traded against lower stiffness than steel. |
| Stainless steel | 304, 316 | Corrosion resistance or washdown environments; food, pharma and marine-adjacent installs. |
Full reasoning behind each choice: steel grades for machine frames, cast iron vs. welded steel, mineral casting vs. welded steel. Grade choice, plate thickness, tube and stress relief by material are on the materials page.
Standards and quality, by machine type
A machine frame is bought against several documents at once. This table lists, for each kind of machine, the standards and rules that reach the frame itself. It is a reading aid, not a statement that any shop holds a certificate: a shop's paperwork is checked with the issuer, and the machine builder decides which rules govern the finished machine.
| Machine type | Standards that reach the frame | Records the frame shop is asked for | Market rules |
|---|---|---|---|
| CNC routers, laser cutters, machine tools | Guard standards ISO 14120, 13857 and 13854; EN 60204-1 protective bonding | Drawings, weld records, inspection report, paint tests, weld stud and nut tests | Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230, applies from 20 January 2027; EN 1090 does not normally apply |
| Packaging and food machinery | ISO 14159, EN 1672-2 and EHEDG guidance for hygienic design | Weld finish, pickling or passivation records (AWS D1.6 and the finish documents), closure of hollow sections | Machinery Regulation; food-contact rules for the machine as a whole |
| Automation lines and robot cells | EN 755 and EN 12020 for aluminium profiles; sheet and tube welding to AWS D1.3 or ISO 15614-1 | Profile certificates, weld records for thin sheet, supplier questionnaires such as EcoVadis and LkSG | Machinery Regulation; REACH Article 33 declaration |
| Semiconductor and inspection equipment | The customer's own frame specification; SEMI S2 and S8 areas that reach the frame; guard and bonding standards as above | Flatness and cleanliness records agreed with the customer | REACH declaration; export-control questions are declined at enquiry stage |
| Battery production equipment | Customer coating specification; protective bonding | Coating adhesion and thickness records | REACH declaration |
Cite or link this page
Free to quote, reference or link with attribution. The calculation method is stated above so it can be checked rather than taken on trust.
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