I am envious of all of your fine automotive projects, but I had to make something to pay the bills. (and I got alot of welding practice doing it)

my dad drew this up with the intent of using some of the massive amounts of scrap steel that he has just laying around.

4 steel support posts, 3.5" diameter solid steel shafts. the nuts at the top of them required me jumping on the end of a 5' pipe wrench to get them to turn (like 900lb-ft, lol)

the 2 main support I beams are 12" tall standard shape Beams, and they both span 17 feet, (the length of the platform)

the deck was sort of pre-fabbed junk my dad had laying around, though it did take quite a bit of cutting, welding, patching etc to get it right...and getting it up there and lined up correctly wasnt easy either. its made up of a grid of 4" C channel.

all of the handrail has been fabbed, you can see it in the background.

the wood (1" high density fiber board) you see stacked on the platform is going to be laid out into a deck that doesnt have huge holes in it..lol.

and I also gave it that slick green/yellow paint job.

anyway...lots of hours and 45 lbs of 0.035" MIG Wire later...




I'll give you guys some "tantalizing updates" as the green monster develops



Modified by tharptroy at 11:59 AM 9/1/2005

 

what is that place?

 

*company name edited*

manufacturer.

we've got about 30 employees, a few welders, a reasonable machine shop (a lathe, a few drill presses, surface grinder, 2 old school mills, and a fadal CNC 3 axis), and lots of punch presses.


Modified by tharptroy at 9:11 PM 9/2/2005

 

1. Is your dad an engineer? Using "scrap steel" for something like this probably isnt the best idea. For a platform such as this, you would always want to do calculations to make sure it has a safe working capacity if it is to either hold a person on top, or for a person to walk beneath it. From your description it seems like this was just fabricated pieced together hoping it will work.

2. Do you have documented welding certification for structural pieces? If not, you better pray nobody gets hurt on or by that thing as you and your father will be sued for every penny you have and more.

3. With out documented designs, if OSHA comes and does an inspection you will be screwed. and designs include proof of safety which requires calculations.

4. It is neat and a good idea, and wish i could weld something up like that...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BigZ88 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">1. Is your dad an engineer? Using "scrap steel" for something like this probably isnt the best idea. For a platform such as this, you would always want to do calculations to make sure it has a safe working capacity if it is to either hold a person on top, or for a person to walk beneath it. From your description it seems like this was just fabricated pieced together hoping it will work.

2. Do you have documented welding certification for structural pieces? If not, you better pray nobody gets hurt on or by that thing as you and your father will be sued for every penny you have and more.

3. With out documented designs, if OSHA comes and does an inspection you will be screwed. and designs include proof of safety which requires calculations.

4. It is neat and a good idea, and wish i could weld something up like that...</TD></TR></TABLE>

I use the term scrap steel loosely, but it was steel that we were not using for anything else....therefore, it was essentially scrap to us, though the I beams, etc were in good shape.

my father is an engineer by practice, not degree, he left college to take over the company, he is familiar with stress calculations, and designed the structure to be much stronger than it needs to be.

I apologize if I made it seem as though this was hap-hazardly strewn together.

the only risk would be the structure starting to slant and fall over. I welded web reinforcements into the I beam at the places where it was supported by the posts to stop the I beam from deflecting, and the top deck was heavily welded to the I beams.

I also welded 2" square steel gussets on 3 sides of each support post attatched to the deck structure. needless to say, this structure is very rigid.

no certified welder here...though after I saw a piece that my friend tried to weld, I can see why you'd want certified welders. I've read the books, and done the practice, my skills with the MIG are acceptable.

if OSHA comes out and starts hunting for reasons to shut a company down, then most places dont stand a chance.

if the old man pisses someone off enough to have osha come here with a fine tooth comb, im sure this wouldnt be what screws us out of business.

anyway, thanks for the comment.

alot of the manufacturing regulations, lawsuits, liability, etc are why my dad is not going to make any more significant manufacturing investments....

 

How are the supports anchored to the floor?

 

they were welded to 18" square steel plate bases, which also have triangular steel "rocket fins" to resist the overturning moment.

the base plates were bolted to the concrete using 3/4" expansion anchors.

 

do you have the dyno graph of that fabrication?

is it street legal?

nice color choice

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BigZ88 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">1. Is your dad an engineer? Using "scrap steel" for something like this probably isnt the best idea. For a platform such as this, you would always want to do calculations to make sure it has a safe working capacity if it is to either hold a person on top, or for a person to walk beneath it. From your description it seems like this was just fabricated pieced together hoping it will work.

2. Do you have documented welding certification for structural pieces? If not, you better pray nobody gets hurt on or by that thing as you and your father will be sued for every penny you have and more.

3. With out documented designs, if OSHA comes and does an inspection you will be screwed. and designs include proof of safety which requires calculations.

4. It is neat and a good idea, and wish i could weld something up like that...</TD></TR></TABLE>

you obviuosly have never been to a lot of factories. i have seen **** 10 x's worse than that.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by baseballinmyass &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">you obviuosly have never been to a lot of factories. i have seen **** 10 x's worse than that.</TD></TR></TABLE>

god that's the truth

around here...furniture is KING...and none of you probably have ANY idea how outdated/fucked up/redneck engineered some of these places are

 

i've been in alot of factories, and the place i work gets alot of business replacing old pieced together crap because with the way people can throw a lawsuit together, they would lose their *** if something did happen.

I'm not saying OSHA is your biggest threat as it is unlikely that they will inspect, but again trying to watch out for your back...if someone does get hurt around there, and they decide to sue...then osha will be called in to inspect.

and another thing that i dont like is the fact that you used "engineer by practice not degree"

I'm not discrediting your father in any way, but after going through the education that i did to be considered an engineer, it bothers me when people consider themselves engineers because they have been fabricating things for years. just one of my little erks.

 

I understand what you're saying, and I know its alot of work, as Im studying to be a Mech E currently.

however, Im sure you also can understand that people can design and build structures, or other mechanical components that will not fail without taking classes....for simple designs such as this, its very easy to pinpoint high stress areas, and reinforce them as necessary.

 

that i do agree....but after the work, u dont want to see the term engineer used so loosely

 

thats scrap metal i would want any day sir

 

Green Monster

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BigZ88 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I'm not discrediting your father in any way, but after going through the education that i did to be considered an engineer, it bothers me when people consider themselves engineers because they have been fabricating things for years. just one of my little erks.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Even after a 4-year college degree in Engineering, you're not a 'Certified Engineer' persay...it takes several years of working as an Engineer and I believe some testing to become this.

Something that might be similar: I went to school to get my A&P license (read: airplane mechanic) However, this is not the only way to get this license. Instead, I could have worked under a licensed mechanic for a certain amount of time (I want to say 3 years, but I cannot remember) and then taken the same tests to recieve my license.

Ben

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by -=M=- &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">do you have the dyno graph of that fabrication?

is it street legal?

nice color choice </TD></TR></TABLE>

 

actually i am an engineer, certified and all. I do not have my P.E (professional engineer liscense). I took and passed the inital test the E.I.T so that after 4 years i can take the PE and get a professional liscense if i so choose. However, there is no requirement for this, and for all intents and purposes I am officially an engineer.

also, the idea of an engineering aprenticeship has gone out the window, and you can not actually be considered an engineer by any governing board or body through any such process. You may be a mechanical technician, but without a degree from an acredited school you will never be considered an engineer. To take both the EIT and PE you must have attended an acredited college or university with a qualified engineering curiculum.

 

technically an engineer......................


technically i'm a minister and a doctor because i paid $5 for my online certificate.

 

you saying that bout me?

 

I was imajining some half assed table or some sort of thing that thing look pretty cool to be put together from scraps

and the dude crying cause someone that didn't go to school for 4 years calls themself a engineer by practice shut up

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BigZ88 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">you saying that bout me?</TD></TR></TABLE>

yep.

 

my man.. sweet mezz. i build these for a living. here's one i helped (i am only 20 years old) design/build.

(i'm a project manager for atlantic installation company, we install mezzanines, rack, shelving, implant offices and such as well.)

here are some pictures of the mezz.. half shelving/ half rack supported. but i've also done free-standing mezzanines too.

 

hehe now your dad has a place up high where he can order employess around with a mega phone........"Get back to work!!..." haha... j/k ....