Stainless Steel Support Strut

Military applications require some of the most stringent industry standards in use today. Projects such as the support strut assembly highlighted here include complex, multifaceted fabrication processes, whose difficulty is compounded by tight dimensional tolerance requirements. At J&E Companies, our reputation with defense contractors is built on our ability to deliver exceptional quality and value regardless of project difficulty. These factors are what led this customer to award us this ITAR controlled stainless steel rack assembly support strut.

The support strut assembly was composed of 2” stainless steel tube, an aluminum casting, and 16-gauge stainless steel sheet stock. The customer’s drawing called out overall dimensions of 22” in width, 36” in length, and 18” in height. Fabrication includes turning, milling, saw and laser cutting, press brake forming, and TIG welding. For this project to be a success, our engineering team had to develop processes, fixtures, and tooling that would compensate for tolerance accumulation and shrinkage from welding. In fact, the project required strict adherence to the AWS structural welding code for stainless steel (AWS D1.6/D1.6M).

Our staff of machinists, welders, and fabrication professionals worked in close collaboration with our ISO 9001 certified quality department to ensure every specification was met. Finishing included the application of a chemical agent resistant coating (CARC), which was also closely inspected. Comprehensive dimensional inspections throughout manufacturing and final CMM verification were used to provide the required 100% quality.

From the first prototype to quantities up to 640 pieces, this project proved to be a success and is currently being manufactured at J&E on an ongoing basis.

For more information, about the processes used to complete this support strut assembly, contact us directly.

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Support Strut Highlights