Skyscrapers and other multistory buildings are known for their use of powerful steel beams, like the one showcased in the famous Lunch Atop a Skyscraper photograph. While these large buildings rely on structural steel for their construction, those materials are also used in many different industries. From general manufacturing to the aerospace industry, structural steel is often included in the products themselves or in the machinery that gets the job done. For several applications that use steel beams, stud welding is a critical fastening system that provides strong, clean connection points quickly and efficiently. Shear connectors, bar anchors, and several other stud types are significant supplies for composite building with steel beams, but there are other types of structural steel welding that utilize stud welding equipment. If you’re stud welding structural steel, you can find everything you need with Northland Fastening Systems (NFS). NFS has a comprehensive supply of welding tools for rent and purchase, studs, accessories, and more.
Structural Steel Welding
Welding with studs like shear connectors and bar anchors is an often-overlooked part of what makes constructing and manufacturing with beams and other structural steel possible. While the primary use of steel is in the construction industry, the material and stud welding systems are also used in the shipbuilding, automotive, mining, aerospace, energy, and manufacturing industries.
Structural Steel Welding is a Large Part of Global Infrastructure.
Because structural steel is used so heavily throughout industries, it’s a large part of global infrastructure. Aside from buildings, studs make up a large part of composite construction, allowing for the building of bridges, roads, pipelines, and mines.
Stud welding is the best fastening system in existence for steel and composite construction. Not only is it cost-effective and fast, but it also creates a bond stronger than the stud itself. Stud welding has a better appearance than most other attachment techniques, leaving the reserve weld surface mark-free.
Major benefits
Other major benefits of stud welding with steel include the fact that workers only need access to one side of the work surface and that a stud-welded connection is leak-proof and resistant to corrosion. Alternative fastening systems like rivets require access to two sides of a surface, and rivets have a tendency to fail or loosen over time. Studs will not require replacement when the weld is performed correctly and is operating within expected parameters.
Stud welding units like the Tru-Weld TW 6902 and many others on the market are perfect for job sites where structural steel construction takes place. They are portable and robust for easy transportation, and they are also extremely easy for operators to learn and operate.
Overall, when building with structural steel and composite construction, stud welding should be your choice for fastening systems. For more information about supplies for structural steel welding, contact NFS at (651) 730-7770 or request a quote online.