Why You Should Be Looking at Alternatives to Welded Structural Steel

When you’ve worked with welded structural steel for pipe supports or racks for so long, it can seem impossible to think that anything else on the market compares. Welded structural steel supports are a strong and proven solution, to be sure, but there are other options that may work better for your needs. 

Welded structural steel supports require two pieces of steel to be welded in place, and while this provides a custom solution, it also includes a potentially lengthy and disruptive installation process that requires skilled labor, special equipment, and hot-work permits. Your fabrication team is responsible for making supports from a drawing that can not be easily modified in the field. Your installation team will show up on-site with materials and measure, cut, and weld your support structure to fit your environment. Both sides of the support delivery are time consuming and risky should field conditions change during the fabrication process. Is a solution that cuts into your organization’s productivity really the best out there? 

Instead, Try Sikla siFramo 

Sikla siFramo is a weldless, configurable, reusable metal framing system that can easily take the place of clunky welded structural steel in your facility. Similar to the Unistrut system, Sikla siFramo is a perforated, modular steel system with box section channels and fittings, allowing for multidirectional connections. These box sections have a higher torsional resistance than conventional beams or strut and weigh significantly less. And, unlike welded steel, Sikla siFramo’s bolted system allows for quick modifications, endless design flexibility, and, perhaps most importantly, minimal installation time. 

How a Sikla siFramo Installation Works 

Because of Sikla siFramo’s modular design, your solution can be pre-fabricated off-site and assembled on-site. An installation team, like Unistrut Midwest, will build your Sikla solution in their warehouse based on your site’s specifications. From there, either the finished product or one requiring minimal installation is delivered to your site.

When on-site assembly is required, the process is 3-4 times faster than that of a welded steel installation. Sikla siFramo uses only screws (no washers or nuts) for connection, allowing supports to be built and adjusted with hand tools; no dangerous, specialty welding tools required. The thread-forming screws lock in place without the need for washers, creating a vibration-resistant connection. And, because all frames can be adjusted in the field, your Sikla siFramo solution can easily adapt to any unexpected on-site conditions. No need to remove pieces, cut new material, and reweld in the event of a discrepancy in measurements or an on-site change order. 

This ease of installation allows many Sikla siFramo structures to go up in a day, or even an afternoon. Because the components are fabricated off-site, your team can continue to use your facility throughout manufacturing, and the quick installation gets your processes up and running much more quickly than a welded structural steel installation. 

What a Sikla siFramo Solution Can Do 

There are more benefits to Sikla siFramo than just an efficient fabrication and installation process. Sikla’s closed box sections are perforated on all four sides, allowing connections in all four directions at the same point. This design makes solutions that are impossible with welded steel a possibility. For example, because Sikla’s box section holes are staggered, volumetric racks can be assembled on the same plane, something that isn’t an option with a welded steel support structure. 

Sikla siFramo also has a higher torsional resistance and lower weight than welded steel, so solutions can be designed to handle heavier loads with a lower self-weight. This brings a siFramo solution into applications where welded steel can’t fit. 

And of course, Sikla siFramo’s weldless connection means reusable parts. After disassembly, all Sika siFramo pieces can be reused. Whether you’re moving to a larger facility, changing your manufacturing process, or adding new machinery, your Sikla siFramo solution can grow and change to fit your organization’s needs. 

Are you interested in finding out more about how Sikla siFramo can work with or replace your welded structural steel system?  Contact the Unistrut Midwest team. We’re ready to brainstorm, design, supply, and install your solution.