44 Iron Expands Fabrication Capacity with the PeddiBolt Laser

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Discover how 44 Iron transformed its plate processing capabilities with the Peddinghaus PeddiBolt 30 kW fiber laser. By bringing plate cutting in-house, 44 Iron has increased throughput, reduced outsourcing, and expanded its capacity to process thicker materials. With precision cutting, automated part etching, and cleaner finished parts, the PeddiBolt is helping streamline fabrication workflows and support continued growth.

So 44 Iron was founded in 2017 and then we kind of taken off from there. 44 Iron has grown to where we're doing structural fabrication anywhere from a million square foot distribution center, five story concrete tilt ups. We do miscellaneous fabrications, staircases, all the way down to your custom handrails with guardrails that have stainless steel fabrication as well.

The decision to invest in the plate laser was really an easy decision. 44 Irons benefited from the relationship with Peddinghaus through collaboration with the plate laser, being one of the first to bring a 30 kilowatt laser into the state of Idaho.

The features of the PeddiBolt that really made us go that direction were for the accuracy and the speed of the cuts we can get off it. The most useful feature of this machine is the etching that we get. We're able to lay out parts for fabrication and etch the part numbers in each part which helps us in the back end with not having to go back and handle the parts three times.

I think we've cut up to two and three quarter inch baseplates which we did not have the capacity to do before.

My overall experience with the PeddiBolt is pretty positive. I like working with it. Depending on how big the programs are, I could run 10 a day. But if they're really big, one or two depending on how big the parts are.

44 Iron typically has got anywhere from 45 to 55 active projects going on at a time. We were doing a lot of outsourcing with our plate processing due to our limitations that we had with the existing plasma table that we had. And this has really increased our throughput, has allowed us to bring most of this stuff in house, and allowed us to do plate thicknesses up to three inch. So it's been a huge addition to our capacity and what we're trying to move forward to do. At this point, we've cut two and three quarter inch plate on that.

The cuts coming off of this laser are straight and clean, cutting a hole less than a thirty second of a variance from top to bottom. My first impression at the PeddiLaser was at a trade show. It was very impressive seeing the speed at which it can do regular plate that 85 to 90% of what we do is that three eighths and below or half inch and below. So to be able to bring that in, do that at a faster feet per minute or a faster rate output throughput has really increased our ability to put more tonnages through the shop. The PeddiLaser and the Lantek software work very well together. You get so much flexibility with the Lantek software for placement of lead ins, lead outs. You can manipulate a lot which really communicates very well to the PeddiLaser.

It's also given us the opportunity to etch parts, which is helping in the shop. It also can do plate layouts, which has given us a huge advantage from a layout standpoint and welding standpoint to be able to help on the QC process and just quickness in the shop as far as what our processes are currently today.

Everything's a lot cleaner, so there's a lot less prep time for our welders and fitters. There's not as near as much cleanup time on each part that they have to go through, so it saves time and in this industry time is money.

Bringing the PeddiLaser in house has allowed us to be able to go after larger jobs, larger tonnages and our goal is to expand going to phase two of our facilities and then continue to our growth pattern from there. We're just very versatile. We can be proactive and it allows us to be able to take on things that maybe a larger fabricator is not able to pivot as quickly as we can. That's really our strength is just being able to take care of customer at the end of the day and just get things out the door.