DRAYFORD PLATE & STRUCTURAL
Ellery Falls. Fabricating since 1978.
64,000 sq ft under roof, two 20-ton bridge cranes, 26 ft hook height.
Plate cutting, forming, rolling and welded fabrication. Carbon, stainless, aluminium.
- Plate cut to
- 2.000 in
- Carbon, high-definition plasma. 6.000 in on the waterjet.
- Formed to
- 150 in
- 400-ton brake, 12 ft 6 in bed. 0.750 in in A36 at full length.
- Delivered inside
- 240 mi
- Own trucks. Common carrier beyond, quoted per load.
- Typical lead time
- 11 working days
- From the released drawing to our dock. Galvanized work runs longer.
What follows is the shop standard: what we hold, on what machine, measured. Anything called tighter on an approved drawing supersedes it and is quoted as such. Submit a drawing.
Materials handled
Everything below is stocked or on a two-day mill call. If it is not on this list we will say so on the same day rather than quote it and find out later.
W12x26
Structural shape
C8x11.5
Channel
HSS6x6x3/8
Hollow section
L4x4x3/8
Angle
PL 1/2 x 8
Plate, on edge
RB 2 dia
Round bar
| Material | Grades | Forms | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carbon plate | A36, A572-50, A514 | Plate, flat bar | 0.125 - 2.000 in Stocked to 1.000 in. Heavier plate on a two-day mill call. |
| Structural shapes | A992, A36 | W, S, C, MC, L | To W24x104 Drill line takes the full range; anything heavier is laid out and mag-drilled. |
| Hollow section | A500 Gr. B and Gr. C | Square, rectangular, round | To 12x12x0.625 in Mitred on the band saw, not flame-cut, so the fit-up is clean. |
| Stainless | 304/304L, 316/316L | Sheet, plate, bar | 0.048 - 1.000 in Separate bay, separate tooling, separate abrasives. Never touches carbon. |
| Aluminium | 5052-H32, 6061-T6 | Sheet, plate | 0.040 - 1.000 in Waterjet only below 0.190 in - no heat, no edge hardening. |
| Abrasion plate | 400 BHN, 450 BHN | Plate | 0.250 - 1.250 in Cut and drilled, not formed. Bend radii on AR plate are the customer call. |
Machine capacity
Ten machines, listed by what they will take rather than by what they are called. Full envelopes, tooling and held tolerances are on the capacity page.
| Machine | Working envelope | Governing capacity |
|---|---|---|
| High-definition plasma table Cutting | 288 x 96 in bed | 2.000 in Max thickness, carbon |
| Abrasive waterjet Cutting | 144 x 72 in bed | 6.000 in Max thickness, carbon |
| Press brake, 400 ton Forming | 150 in bed, 24 in throat | 0.750 in at full bed length Max form, A36 |
| Press brake, 135 ton Forming | 98 in bed, 16 in throat | 0.375 in Max form, A36 |
| Plate roll, initial pinch Forming | 96 in wide, 30 in swing | 0.625 in Max thickness at full width |
| Ironworker, 100 ton Forming | 60 in table | 1.062 in dia through 0.500 in Punch |
| Mitre band saw Cutting | 120 in infeed | 16 in Round capacity |
| Beam drill line Machining | 480 in conveyor, to W24 | To W24x104 Section range |
| Weld bays Joining | 6 bays, 240 x 96 in each | SMAW, GMAW, FCAW, GTAW Processes |
| Blast and prime booth Finishing | 480 x 144 x 144 in clear | Near-white, or commercial on request Blast standard |
Tolerances held
Ordered is not delivered. Every band below is drawn to one scale across this whole site, so a band you can barely see is a tolerance we barely move in.
| Operation | Nominal | Band, drawn to scale |
|---|---|---|
| Waterjet profile Abrasive jet, 0.036 in kerf, no heat-affected zone. | Called dimension | ± 0.008 in · worst measured +0.004 |
| Formed leg length Air bend, 0.750 in die, back gauge to the bend line. | Called leg | ± 0.016 in · worst measured +0.007 |
| Drilled hole location Drill line, from the datum end of the member. | Called centre | ± 0.031 in · worst measured +0.011 |
| Sheared length To 96 in on the shear. Longer runs go to the plasma. | Called length | ± 0.031 in · worst measured +0.014 |
| Plasma profile, to 1 in High-definition head, kerf compensated in the nest. | Called dimension | ± 0.045 in · worst measured +0.019 |
| Sawn length, structural Mitre saw, square and 45 deg either hand. | Called length | ± 1/16 in · worst measured +0.026 |
| Rolled cylinder diameter Initial-pinch roll, measured on the inside diameter. | Called ID | ± 3/32 in · worst measured +0.041 |
| Fabricated overall length Welded assemblies to 20 ft, measured cold. | Called length | ± 1/8 in · worst measured +0.049 |
| Flatness, plate to 1/2 in Over a 10 ft straightedge, after cutting, before forming. | Flat | ± 3/16 in · worst measured +0.072 |
| Brake bend angle Per bend, springback compensated at setup and checked on the first part. | Called angle | ± 0.5 deg · worst measured +0.2 deg |
The tall stroke is the called dimension. The two short strokes are the limits. The single mark is the worst deviation measured across the last quarter of production on that operation. Not an average, and not a target. Linear bands share one scale; the angular row is drawn on its own, and says so.
Qualifications
Four welding qualifications, each with a thickness scope. The bar is that scope on a common 0 to 2 in axis; the mark is the coupon thickness actually tested.
| Qualification | Processes | Thickness scope |
|---|---|---|
| Structural carbon steel, all positions | SMAW, GMAW, FCAW | 0.125 - 1.500 in · tested at 1.000 in |
| Austenitic stainless | GTAW, GMAW | 0.060 - 0.750 in · tested at 0.500 in |
| Aluminium, spool gun | GMAW | 0.100 - 0.500 in · tested at 0.250 in |
| Full-penetration groove, heavy plate | FCAW with backing | 0.500 - 2.000 in · tested at 1.500 in |
Inspection is five methods, three of them done here. Scopes, inspection and traceability in full
Delivery and lead time
Lead time is quoted from the released drawing, not from the purchase order. The band is how far the last year of jobs actually moved off the quoted day.
| Zone | Distance | Carriage | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 0 - 60 mi | Own truck | Two runs a week, plus anything urgent |
| B | 60 - 140 mi | Own truck | One scheduled run a week |
| C | 140 - 240 mi | Own truck | On release, as booked |
| - | Beyond 240 mi | Common carrier | Quoted per load with the job |
| Work type | Quoted | Band, drawn to scale |
|---|---|---|
| Cut only, plate from stock | 4 days | ± 2 days · worst measured +0.8 day |
| Cut and formed | 8 days | ± 3 days · worst measured +1.4 days |
| Welded assembly, primed | 14 days | ± 4 days · worst measured +2.1 days |
| Welded assembly, hot-dip galvanized | 22 days | ± 6 days · worst measured +3.6 days |
Submitting a drawing
Six lines. A request with all six is priced the same week; a request missing two of them turns into a phone call, and the phone call is the delay.
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A drawing or a model
PDF, DXF or STEP. Flat patterns are not required - we develop them, and we would rather develop them than inherit one built to somebody else bend allowance.
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Material and grade
Or describe the duty and we will call the grade. Tell us if a specific mill or a specific certificate is required, because that changes the lead time before it changes the price.
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Quantity, and whether it repeats
A run of four prices differently if there are forty behind it. Say so and the tooling gets amortised properly.
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The tolerances that matter
Mark them. Anything unmarked is held to the shop standard published on the front page of this site, and quoted at that cost.
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Finish
Mill, blast and prime, painted, or hot-dip galvanized. Galvanized work adds roughly two weeks and needs venting and draining designed in.
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Delivery
Where it goes and the date it has to be on site. If the date is the constraint, say that first - it changes how the job is routed.
Submit a drawing · or send it to estimating@drayfordplate.com