NJIT Steel Bridge Competition 2012

[turbo38t]

My company is building the steel bridge for the NJIT school's yearly civil engineering competition. I got the honors to do the welding/fabrication again. Most of the tubing is 1/2" 3/4" 4130 tubing with wall thickness ranging from .037"-.323" or somewhere's around there. It's a lot easier to weld than the .037 wall 1/4" and 5/16" tubing I did last year. I'm using er80-s2 1/16" wire with a syncrowave 250dx and a 20M watercooled torch. Gold lanthanated tungsten in 1/16" is the choice(by defaultI guess with a small amount of my input). Some of the tubing is cleaed at the copes, other is mill scale. I'm told to weld as is so brake clean is all I can use. The fixture is made of 1" aluminum plate with all the details CNCd into it. Most fittings are single shear while the main trusses use a male/female tubular slide fitting that has a 1/4" bolt to hold tight.The lower truss fittings are cylindrical single shear in design. Here are a couple of pics from the first day of fab. DaveBridge2.jpgBridge.jpg

[turbo38t]

some more pics....Bridge23.jpgBridge24.jpgBridge25.jpgBridgeXmember1.jpgBridgeXmember2.jpg

My company is building the steel bridge for the NJIT school's yearly civil engineering competition. I got the honors to do the welding/fabrication again. Most of the tubing is 1/2" 3/4" 4130 tubing with wall thickness ranging from .037"-.323" or somewhere's around there. It's a lot easier to weld than the .037 wall 1/4" and 5/16" tubing I did last year. I'm using er80-s2 1/16" wire with a syncrowave 250dx and a 20M watercooled torch. Gold lanthanated tungsten in 1/16" is the choice(by defaultI guess with a small amount of my input). Some of the tubing is cleaed at the copes, other is mill scale. I'm told to weld as is so brake clean is all I can use. The fixture is made of 1" aluminum plate with all the details CNCd into it. Most fittings are single shear while the main trusses use a male/female tubular slide fitting that has a 1/4" bolt to hold tight.The lower truss fittings are cylindrical single shear in design. Here are a couple of pics from the first day of fab. DaveBridge2.jpgBridge.jpg

[Bistineau]

This is kind of interesting. Do you have any photos of the completed one from last year? As well as some of the construction photos. That might give us an idea of what the overall project is about.

[tackit]

If I'm reading your post right you're saying you can use brake cleaner?

"I'm told to weld as is so brake clean is all I can use." DONT USE IT...welding heat turns it into phosgene gas. It can kill you.


Read this article

http://www.brewracingframes.com/id75.htm

[aametalmaster]

No brake clean for me either. And yes i like to make bridges too. I have made miles of them...Bob

[turbo38t]

Sorry, I use the non-chrorinated. Only the chlorinated (red can) Brakleen turns into Phosgene gas. The other type evaporates. Dave

If I'm reading your post right you're saying you can use brake cleaner?

"I'm told to weld as is so brake clean is all I can use." DONT USE IT...welding heat turns it into phosgene gas. It can kill you.


Read this article

http://www.brewracingframes.com/id75.htm