butterfly house- welding square steel tube and sheet metal

admin

Hi All,We are deciding the best way to produce a product called the butterfly house- http://www.euronews.com/2014/03/24/b...pino-homeless/This is a folding house intended to provide temporary shelter for the hundreds of thousands of families left homeless by the devastating typhoon that struck here.The frame is made of 1mm- 1.2 mm galvanized steel tube. We need to join the tubes into a frame. We are planning to use stamped out 1.2 mm galvanized steel corner plates. These plates could be fixed to the tubes using, a. welding b. rivets c. self tapping screws. We are planning to make these houses in dozens of small metal workshops by providing them with the cut parts, jigs, and other tools. We need to mobilize to produce thousands of these a week. These shops usually have an arc welder, grinders a 2-3 hp compressor, and other very basic equipment. They subsist by making wrought iron window frames, gates, and the like. There are hundreds of them and they have an unlimited supply of semiskilled labor to tap. Here are the questions:1. arc welding- is it feasible to use an arc welder to spot weld the tube frames together by welding directly through the bracket? will it help to punch holes in the corner brackets so the arc an weld the edge of the bracket to the tube? what rod, setup will work best?2. single sided spot welder. I found this in alibaba: http://xwweld.en.alibaba.com/product...g_machine.htmlit says it needs 160kva? it looks like it will do the trick but the power is way over what these little shops have, which is single phase, 20kva total...3. MIG or TIG, we could buy some equipment and give it to them, if it will make it faster4. should we just use self tapping screws? is welding going to be much stronger? is it worth it to weld this, or just add more screws instead?any suggestions or help will be urgently appreciated. we have to mobilize quickly and dont have the luxury of much trial and error. any simple, scalable suggestion will be appreciated!EJO
Reply:Skilled or even semi-skilled weldors would be best, simply to weld up the pre fab'd pieces you're having made.  However, finding the available necessary numerous weldors AND their machines for that project,  to build thousands of these homes as you mentioned, might be difficult.  So, it might be better to invest in hundreds of cordless drills where most anyone can learn to use in the shortest amount of time.  Some basic assembly instruction for your newly hired "builders," coupled with sheet metal screws and you're set.  Or, utilize both plans together.  Gather all the weldors and new found construction volunteers you can muster.    That sounds like one giant project ahead of you.Lincoln Power Mig 216Lincoln AC/DC-225/125Miller  625 X-Treme PlasmaMiller 211 Forney 95FI-A 301HF 91110Victor Journeyman O/PMilwaukee DaytonMakita  Baileigh NRA Life Member
Reply:What happens to them when the next typhoon comes in ? You'd be better off buying ship-loads of 20 foot containers and cutting in windows and doors with a gas powered saw.If your bent on the butterfly go with self tapping screws.They'll come apart and or/repair easier when(not if) the next big storm hits.Bubble gumTooth pixDuct tapeBlack glueGBMF hammerScrew gun --bad battery (see above)
Reply:Originally Posted by BurpeeWhat happens to them when the next typhoon comes in ? You'd be better off buying ship-loads of 20 foot containers and cutting in windows and doors with a gas powered saw.If your bent on the butterfly go with self tapping screws.They'll come apart and or/repair easier when(not if) the next big storm hits.
Reply:Don't use self tapping screws, use TEK screws. They drill the hole and tap it as well. Any good 18V drill will put them in.
Reply:Originally Posted by ejoHi All,We are deciding the best way to produce a product called the butterfly house.   The frame is made of 1mm- 1.2 mm galvanized steel tube. We need to join the tubes into a frame. We are planning to use stamped out 1.2 mm galvanized steel corner plates. These plates could be fixed to the tubes using, a. welding b. rivets c. self tapping screws... Here are the questions:1. arc welding- is it feasible to use an arc welder to spot weld the tube frames together by welding directly through the bracket? will it help to punch holes in the corner brackets so the arc an weld the edge of the bracket to the tube? what rod, setup will work best?2. single sided spot welder. I found this in alibaba: http://xwweld.en.alibaba.com/product...g_machine.htmlit says it needs 160kva? it looks like it will do the trick but the power is way over what these little shops have, which is single phase, 20kva total...3. MIG or TIG, we could buy some equipment and give it to them, if it will make it faster4. should we just use self tapping screws? is welding going to be much stronger? is it worth it to weld this, or just add more screws instead?any suggestions or help will be urgently appreciated. we have to mobilize quickly and dont have the luxury of much trial and error. any simple, scalable suggestion will be appreciated!EJO