Plant Room Modules, Gods Gift To Industry
Steel fabrication is one of the most versatile trades in the modern world. Practically anything can be made from steel, from home furnishings to huge structures such as oil rigs, and everything in between. By using a combination of sheet steel and a variety of profiles such as tubes, I-beams, angle iron an so on, almost any conceivable structure can be constructed from steel. However some of the most sought after steel products made in a fabrication workshop are garden gates and railings for domestic customers. Whereas industrial customers are generally looking for bespoke fire escapes and plant room modules such as riser modules and pump skids.
Plant room modules have revolutionised industrial construction as instead of the traditional method of building an industrial plant from the ground up, taking a modular approach means that industrial and plant machinery can be installed in a fraction of the time. This is due to much of the machinery being constructed off site in a modular style; meaning it can be quickly and easily assembled once it’s delivered to the site. Traditionally, all the different parts of machinery and the connecting pipe work would be assembled bit by bit on site. However with a modular approach, each section of the finished plant can be assembled and tested off site and once all is complete, it can be quickly and easily delivered and assembled in order to get it up and running in a minimum of time.
One of the main advantages of a modular approach is each section can be easily transported when necessary, and this is especially true for pump skids, being a large industrial pump, along with it’s control panel and all fixtures and fittings pre assembled on a single module, or skid. Pumps are often required to be used in more than one place and when using pump skids, one can quickly and easily up sticks and move.
Where a plant is to be constructed on more than one level, each module is accompanied with what is known in the industry as riser modules. These are bespoke steel constructions which lift pipework and other conduits from one floor to the next. As with the whole ethos of modular construction, riser modules are constructed off site in order to streamline the installation process and enable off site testing prior to installation. Again, should any aspect of industrial machinery need to moved to a different site at any point in the future, de-assembling and re-assembling a modular plant is far more straight forward than unbolting each and every section of pipe, cable and machine. Plant room modules are essential for any modern industry and not only save time and money, they take the headache out of industrial construction.
By Carl Liver and Barry Summers
Wrought Iron Gates and Railings
Although wrought iron declined in popularity as steel became the common metal for manufacturing and construction, the term ‘wrought iron’ is still used to describe steel gates and railings which have been ‘wrought’ or worked by hand. The vast majority of wrought iron products today are in fact made from mild steel, and not iron as the name suggests. The fact is, mild steel is a much better material; being stronger, easier to work and weld than iron, and is much more resistant to corrosion. These properties make mild steel the ideal material for gates and railings, along with a myriad of other products including pipe work, nails, screws, etc.
Wrought iron gates and railings have been popular in the UK since the sixteenth century and were to be found on almost every urban street and surrounding almost every stately home or public park. However many of Britain’s railings were removed during WWII as part of the war effort, leaving only the stubs behind. In more recent years, many home owners have been replacing their long lost railings with designs which echo those of the period the original railings were fitted, or updating the look with contemporary gates or railings.
The beauty of wrought iron is that it natively, the choices of decorative features which can be incorporated in to both gates and railings are almost endless. Design details such as arching, swooping or twisted pickets, decorative finials & knuckles and sweeping scroll work can all be easily incorporated into any design. Wrought iron railings and gates can be designed and manufactured to match any home, be it a modest country cottage, a large stately home, a Victorian town house, a seafront villa or more modern housing.
Wrought iron is also ideal for commercial premises where security is a main concern. As the fence panels and gates can be made to almost any height or length, with finials topping each picket acting as both a security and an aesthetic feature, means that wrought iron gates and railings can protect against intruders on almost any commercial or industrial site. For the ultimate in defensive railings, heavy duty palisade fencing can be installed along with electrically operated security gates.
With over four hundred years having passed by since wrought iron was first used for gates, railings and fencing applications, the designs have changed very little, as have the processes used in their manufacture. The only difference being wrought iron was replaced with steel around the late nineteenth century, but that’s a minor detail. The basic design and purpose of wrought iron railings and gates still hold true today, and will do for many years to come.
By Carl Liver and Barry Summers