Welded Artwork
The objective of this project was to utilize scrap metal in the machine shop to make a piece of welded artwork. I wanted to incorporate bending with the oxyacetylene torch as well as welding with a variety of metal thicknesses. The frame is 1' x 1' made out of 1" x 2" x .065" steel tube with mitered edges. All welding is MIG welding. I started the project with a couple ideas of patterns and then filled in the rest with extra cross sections that I had cut earlier. I knew that I wanted some sort of squiggle going across the middle and for one side to be mostly rectangular cross sections. I was interested in interlocking UNISTRUT together as well as putting descending sizes of square tubing in a corner of the frame. Ultimately I was quite happy with my final result, although the weight may prove to be problematic with wall mounting.
Sketch on Luan Plywood
Design Process
I wanted to keep this project reasonable in size and weight so I decided on a 1' x 1' frame. The frame had mitered joints for aesthetic and I made a jig to ensure it was a perfect square. I cut a piece of scrap wood to a square foot and then drew out a pattern of potential cross sections to help create my vision. Once I had a better idea of what I was doing I cut my pieces to length. Before cutting, I ensured my pieces were paint and rust free by cleaning up the easy to reach edges with an angle grinder. I wanted one side of my piece to be flat and the other side to have a variety of heights. The longest piece is 2" to match the height of the steel frame and the shortest piece is the washer at about 1/8" thick.
Frame Drawing (click to expand)
Welding Setup for Rectangular Tubing
I started by welding all the rectangular pieces for this project so that they wouldn't move around as I laid out the squiggles and washers for the other side. For the majority of the welding, I had the settings at 16 gauge steel, which was the thickness of all rectangular tubing and the UNISTRUT. I had the welder grounded to the steel frame and welded the outer edges first. I aimed for 2-3 tacks per piece. I left the small rectangles loose so that they could be arranged to have as many contact points as possible when the other side was set up.
Sun Rays made with Oxy Torch
Welding Setup
Bending with Oxyacetylene Torch
Once the rectangular side was welded, I started making the bends for the sun rays. I started with a long rod and created bends one section at a time with the oxyacetylene torch. I would place the rod into a table vice and heat a section until it was a glowing orange. Once the piece was heated, I bent the squiggles using vice grips and slip joint pliers. I cut the squiggles to length using an angle grinder with a cutoff disk. I tested how the rays looked in the final piece and then made some adjustments to create a more cohesive fit.
Finished w/ Layers
Reflection and DFM Principles
I worked on this project alone and probably spent about 4 hours on it. The frame was done separately and took about an hour and a half to jig and weld. I spend about two hours cutting pieces and planning my layout and another two hours welding and bending the sun rays. This project was an art piece, so the layout of pieces did not meet design for manufacturing principles. I used a horizontal bandsaw with a stop block to make repeated cuts and made sure to adjust my welding settings to suit the thickness of what was being welded. The jig used for the steel frame was able to be reused to make a different test frame with butt joints. Overall, the welding went well and I was able to practice using the oxyacetylene torch which was very fun. I was careful to make sure all the pieces were interconnected to add strength to their connections and I think that worked well. The washers in particular are welded on as many connecting surfaces as possible because I was worried that they would be fragile. I felt as though I met my goals of being creative and practicing welding.