Taking advantage of our state-of-the-art cutting capabilities, Appleton Stainless was contracted by a food processing customer for the construction of sanitary process piping. This six week long project required the application of not only our own cutting-edge technology, but also of our design resources and extensive prior experience with sanitary piping projects.
Working closely with the customer, we discovered that their equipment circumstances required the fabrication of nonstandard sanitary pipe. Diameters of 6”, 7”, 8”, 10”, 12” and 14” were furnished, along with size adapters and transition pieces. All pieces were fabricated from 304L stainless steel, finished to 32RA on inner surfaces, mill on outer surfaces. Use of a profilometer confirmed the precision of the inner surface. Individual manufacturing processes included HD plasma cutting, sheet rolling, form/seam welding, tube cutting, grinding, coping, TIG and MIG welding, pickling and passivation, and polishing.
Completing this project successfully required our coordinating the material requirements, timeline, and specifications between plant personnel, the engineers, and the mechanical contractors. By applying competent management sensibility along with our fabrication capabilities, we created a complete piping solution that covered every requirement posed by this food processing project.
To learn more about this project, or more about Appleton Stainless, contact us today.
Appleton Stainless was selected by a food, dairy, and bio-pharmaceutical industries customer looking to machine instrument tee bodies. This highly regulated application required that the metal fittings be machined to close tolerances and applicable material standards. By applying our precision machining capabilities directly to the customer’s needs, we were able to deliver a complete solution on schedule.
These instrument tee bodies varied in size from 1/2 x 1” to 1 1/2 x 2”, but were all manufactured from 316L stainless. We elected to use conventional CNC turning and milling strategies to cut the parts quickly and precisely from standard round bar stock. Light polishing followed, establishing a 20 RA outer surface. Dimensional tolerances were held to ±0.002”. Fitting and documentation travel throughout the manufacturing process, ensuring high levels of output quality.
All fittings were manufactured and delivered on a 3-week schedule, allowing the customer to react quickly to changing equipment regulatory standards. All machined components were held to A276 standards. Our understanding of industry requirements, an ability to comply with new industry standards, and our timeliness of lead times in a competitive market allowed us to really deliver on this project in high pressure circumstances.
If you’d like to learn more about this project, see the table below, or contact Appleton Stainless today.
Applying our experience to customer requirements is what allowed Appleton Stainless to excel at an unusual project while maintaining an advantageous turnaround. We were contracted by a paper industry customer to fabricate various sized fittings out of an unconventional, high performance steel alloy, while maintaining compliance with applicable industry standards. Despite the challenges posed, our diverse portfolio of prior work turned this project into an everyday affair.
The S10 fittings requested by the customer were to be made from AL6XN steel alloy, a superaustenitic and highly corrosion resistant material that is very difficult to form, and would have to be A774 compliant. The fittings, ranging in size from 4” to 14”, were cut using a high-definition plasma cutting approach, and assembled with form, seam, and MIG welding. Pickling and passivation ensured clean and corrosion-free surfaces. Tolerances were held to ±.060”. All fittings were completed and shipped to the Kentucky-based customer on a turnaround of eight weeks.
Cutting-edge material forming and robust experience came together to make possible an otherwise unlikely combination of material and scheduling requirements. To learn more about this project or the many others Appleton Stainless has worked on, see the table below or contact us directly today.
By taking advantage of our boundless dedication to customer needs, an electronics manufacturer discovered the significant capability Appleton Stainless offers over the competition. We were contracted to manufacture tube manifolds, high-precision devices needed for the making of computer chips. Application of our core competencies allowed us to deliver this product quickly and with a level of quality that previous manufacturers couldn't match.
Throughout the manufacturing phase we worked closely with the customer, determining how their proprietary requirements could be best applied. The tube manifolds to be manufactured measured 2" outer diameter. by 48" long, and specified 304 stainless steel with inner and outer finishes of 32 Roughness Average (Ra). We opted to fabricate via a series of high-precision processes, including cutting, coping, TIG welding, and polishing. Pickling and passivation were also applied to ensure a smooth, clean, and corrosion-free surface.
All tube manifold units were manufactured and delivered on a speedy four-day schedule, with each exceeding the quality standards set by the customer. Thanks to our extensive portfolio of challenging and unconventional projects, we were able to resolutely succeed where other steel fabricators had failed.
To learn more about this exciting project, see the table below or contact Appleton Stainless directly.
