What CNC plasma table does Spydr Fabrication use to cut steel parts in its welding and fabrication shop? A 5x10 ShopSabre SideKick. This ShopSabre Spotlight follows one project from CAD model to finished part: a magnetic tank tray.
Spydr Fabrication, introduced on camera as Spydr Welding and Fabrication, is a custom fabrication shop in Salisbury, North Carolina. The company has been in business for three years and delivers wood, metal, and plastic products to customers all over the US. Shane Love introduces the shop, and Spencer, who handles design and engineering, runs the project.
Spydr chose a 5x10 plasma table for a production reason. In Spencer's words, the size makes it "easier to get more parts per sheet," and the crew swaps sheets less often. The table cuts a range of materials, typically mild steel up to an inch thick.
The tank tray is designed in Fusion as three components: a magnet mounting plate, a tool tray, and a lever channel. The cut files are nested in ProNest and plasma cut on the SideKick, then the parts are cleaned, formed on the press brake, welded, and assembled. The build needs only one weld, which attaches the handle to the magnet mounting plate. Four hex-shaped holes take threaded hex rivet nuts that bolt the tray to the plate. Spencer reports very little cleanup: surface prep and a small amount of slag along the edges. He says the machine has a hand in almost every project at Spydr Fabrication.
The same workflow fits welding shops, job shops, and small manufacturers that plasma cut mild steel parts and then bend and weld them into brackets, trays, and fixtures.
The SideKick is built by ShopSabre CNC, an American manufacturer of CNC routers, plasma tables, fiber lasers, and tube cutters, all designed and built in Lakeville, Minnesota. Request a quote from ShopSabre at the link below, and tell us in the comments what you would cut first.
