Westfield Steel Project Spotlight: Air-Bearing Turntable

Here at Westfield Steel, we can do a lot with steel—from easy cutting or forming to complex welding, assembly, and much more. Our value-added services can accomplish almost anything our customers require. From raw steel to a functioning mechanical machine, one piece of steel can go on quite a journey at our Westfield manufacturing facility. 

Perhaps no finished project best exemplifies a diverse and versatile set of steel fabrication skills than our recent run of massive air-bearing turntables.

We make a few hundred standard lift tables per year, which go on to live long, productive lives lifting and sliding parts and containers along conveyor systems at large-scale automotive OEMs. 

Beginning in February 2022, one engineering customer began contracting our team to create a series of large, air-bearing turntables for use in Volkswagen’s Puebla, Mexico plant—the country’s largest automobile factory producing nearly 300,000 vehicles per year. The air-bearing tables are used to move large pieces of equipment easily and can easily rotate heavy pallets.

Westfield Steel has constructed nearly a dozen heavy-duty air-bearing tables in the past year and a half. They are roughly a two-month project, utilizing a vast array of our capabilities and requiring many types of strong, reliable ASTM A-36 hot-rolled steel:

• Plates
  • 275 Pounds & 27 Pieces of 1/4″
  • 53 Pounds & 8 Pieces of 3/8″
  • 3,111 Pounds & 24 Pieces of 1/2″
  • 122 Pounds & 2 Pieces of 5/8″

• Flat Bar
  • 8 Pounds & 8 Pieces of 3/8” x 2″
  • 8 Pounds & 8 Pieces of 3/8” x 2″
  • 14 Pounds & 6 Pieces of 1/2” x 3/4″
  • 58 Pounds & 6 Pieces of 1/2” x 3″
  • 488 Pounds & 10 Pieces of 1/2” x 4″

• Square Bar
  • 1 Pound & 4 Pieces of 1/4″
  • 2 Pounds & 4 Pieces of 1/2″

• Angle
  • 9 Pounds & 12 Pieces of 1/2″ x 1/2″ x 1/8”
  • 1 Pound & 2 Pieces of 3/4″ x 3/4″ x 1/8”
  • 8 Pounds & 2 Pieces of 4″ x 3″ x 1/2”

• Channel
  • 175 Pounds & 12 Pieces of 4.0 x 5.4#
  • 4 Pounds & 2 Pieces of 7.0 x 9.8#
  • 226 Pounds & 12 Pieces of 8.0 x 11.5#

• Tube
  • 140 Pounds & 6 Pieces of 4” x 4” x 1/4″
  • 346 Pounds & 2 Pieces of 8” x 3” x 1/4″

• Pipe
  • 10 Pounds & 1 Piece of 5” Schedule 80
  • 2 Pounds & 2 Pieces of 3/4″ Schedule 40
  • 15 Pounds & 1 Piece of 6” Schedule 120

The pieces are first formed through a combination of high-definition plasma cutting, beveling, and forming with press brakes, as well as requiring a CNC horizontal lathe and our recently added Tsune ferrous circular saw.

Larger sections are welded and put together like pieces of a large metal pie. Each piece is given its bright orange coat of orange paint before final assembly, which includes the installation of the tables’ air hoses and specialty electronics.

Do you have a unique project in mind, one that calls for a collection of various steel products and vast, versatile services? Talk to a steel expert at Westfield Steel today. We look forward to saying “Yes” to your requests, utilizing all our parts and skills to help get your job done right. 

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