Forster America welding tables are amongst the best in the world, enabling professional welders to work with absolute precision and accuracy however complicated the design of the product and its components might be. Modular in design, Forster tables offer 3D solutions that are innovative and flexible and may be tailored to meet the requirements of virtually any product whether basic and routine or highly complex in nature.
Suitable for steel and stainless steel processing, Forster America welding tables minimize downtime and increase productivity, ultimately enabling any well-run company to increase its profits.
Whether you opt for our special gray cast iron tables for steel processing or aluminum/copper alloy (Al/Cu) non-ferritic surfaces for stainless steel processing, we offer a wide variety of equipment packages to meet your needs.
Winning Features of Forster Tables
The innovative modular nature of patented Forster tables enables welders to adjust the height of the work very easily, and swivel and tilt the table so they can work on every possible surface, whether vertical or horizontal. These tables also support a combination of accessories including lift tables, horizontal rotary tables, and vertical turntables that add even more functionality.
The work surface of Forster America 3D modular tables can be adjusted in three dimensions. The design comprises individual rails that can be removed to create free, open areas to accommodate additional components or to enlarge the overall surface of the table. It also incorporates an ingenious patented T-slot system that enables welders to position and clamp all elements of an assembly onto the rails.
Unlike the traditional fixed grid design, the T-slot table offers unlimited possibilities in terms of moving components during the welding process so that frames, tubes, housings, and any other elements can literally be welded in any position. This means the welding table can be tailored exactly to meet the machining requirements of any components, by positioning clamping elements and stops exactly where they are needed. Incredibly, it is also possible to reach every corner of a work-piece (even a large container), and you will find that fewer clamping elements are required than with tables that are grid-bound.
Furthermore, Forster’s mobile tables have three heavy-duty wheels with brakes and two adjustable feet. This means that they can be safely used on uneven floor surfaces.
Forster Table Rails are Key for Flexible Positioning
Sturdy, heavy-duty rails are key for successful three-dimensional welding work, which is why they are a primary design factor of Forster welding tables. The grid spacing of the rails is 100 mm x 100 mm and the maximum point load of a single rail is 1.5 tons for a cast iron table, and 1 ton for non-ferritic, low carbon, Al/Cu tables made for stainless steel machining. The maximum permissible total welding table load can though be increased, depending on the work-piece being welded.
Forster America’s patented T-slot system allows infinite adjustment in height, and there is no limit to the positioning and clamping of work-pieces. The work-piece is fitted to the front and side edges of the table using edge stops. Because the length and width of components don’t generally correspond to a fixed grid, the system enables the welder to define the shape of the work-piece by simply moving stop angles to make it fit. All elements, including frames, pipes, racks, and housings, can be precisely positioned and clamped at any point of the table by adjusting the rails and T-slots.
Also, because of the modular design of Forster tables, the rails are interchangeable, enabling welders to ensure that the table surface is always 100 percent accurate and components produced using it are of a consistently high quality.
Advantages of Forster Tables Compared to Other Types
There are other welding tables on the market that are modular, some of which can be used with fixtures that are intended for precision machining and welding. Designs include punch-hole tables, some of which have adjustable plates or slots that can be used with various machine parts including levers and threaded fasteners, clamps, magnets, and pliers.
Forster Tables have these features and more, with add-ons in the form of manipulators and positioners, equipment sets, and adjustment possibilities that make them the most efficient tables available. The T-slot system is also considerably more flexible than punch-hole tables when it comes to clamping components.
In addition to Forster’s standard jigs, fixtures, and superior 3D clamping system, Forster America is able to create unique clamping devices using a computer-aided design (CAD) in the planning phase of the project. These can be quickly and easily incorporated in the existing modular system.
Another benefit of the T-slot system is that sections of the table can be adapted for individual components. Also, if one structural element of the table is damaged, it is easy to replace it. If perforated punch-hole tables are damaged, the entire surface of the table has to be repaired or replaced.
Additionally, the surfaces of Forster tables are superior and have advantages of their own.
Advantages of Gray Cast Iron Welding Tables
Many welding processes produce spatter in the form of waste metal that literally splashes and spatters onto the work-piece and often the welding table too. If spatter sticks to the table it must be removed using a metal chipping hammer which takes time and effort.
Gray cast iron tables become totally spatter proof, although initially, a non-stick coating should be applied to the surface of these tables to prevent spatter from adhering to it. This penetrates the porous structure of the cast iron and it doesn’t have to be constantly re-applied. But gray cast iron contains graphite, and as it ages it gets darker in color, and the graphite moves to the surface and spreads. This natural process makes the surface increasingly non-stick, so any spatter will simply detach from the surface – no cleaning required.
Additionally, gray cast iron has a particularly low expansion point when it exposed to heat, and it isn’t ductile, so it’s a good surface to work on. Better sound attenuation when components are positioned on the welding table also reduces noise.
Advantages of Al/Cu Alloy Welding Tables
As the only manufacturer of welding tables specifically designed for stainless steel processing, the advantages of these are unbeatable.
The Al/Cu alloy rails offer the safest welding conditions for professional stainless steel processing. A necessary prerequisite for quality-compliant stainless steel processing is the spatial separation of ferritic materials like mild steel or cast iron from stainless steel to avoid any chance of scratches that could cause corrosion. This means it is essential to work on a non-ferritic welding table.
Not only are Forster’s Al/Cu alloy tables non-ferritic, they also offer a clamping system that doesn’t have any ferritic contact points. The Al/Cu T-slots have a high tensile strength and low surface hardness too, and they have the same 3D clamping and positioning benefits of the gray cast iron tables.
Generally, when there are vulnerabilities or weaknesses during stainless steel processing these have to be adjusted by complete dip or immersion “pickling”. This is avoided when the Al/Cu alloy tables are used.
Why Buy a Forster Welding Table?
It may not appear apparent at first, but the main cost factor of welded construction work in general is not actually the weld. This averages only 15 percent of work time. Rather, it is the non-productive downtime during which re-measuring, straightening, correcting, and mechanically reworking parts of assemblies on the welding table that take 85 percent of the time. This extra time takes money!
Forster tables, on the other hand, when combined with suitable clamping and stop elements, have the exact basis for creating components and assemblies correctly the first time. This applies to mass production as well as one-off products. The potential savings are enormous.
Whether you want to purchase the best welding tables available with Forster’s superior jigs, fixtures, clamping system, and equipment sets, or you need a table with a customized solution, contact the professionals at Forster America for assistance.