Custom Welded Frames & Weldments
Motors, drives, and control modules bolt to hole patterns in the plates of a frame, and custom welded frames have to hold those patterns in position as the joints cool. K-Display welds the frames to your drawings from laser cut plate and formed channel in carbon steel, stainless steel, or aluminum.
Welded frames and weldments we build
We make custom welded frames for equipment builders: support frames that carry a drive or a process assembly, machine frames that carry panels and covers, and welded subassemblies for a larger machine. We laser cut and form the plates and channel and weld them in carbon steel, stainless steel, or aluminum. Frames ship bare, powder coated, or with studs and nuts installed.
A frame that stands on the floor under a machine is built as machine bases & skid frames, and one that positions a part for a check as test stand & fixture frames.
The equipment touches only the plates, so the plates carry the hole patterns while the crossmembers and gussets hold them in position.
Frame parts we make
- Equipment support frames
- Welded frames that hold a drive, a module, or a process assembly at the position the machine puts it.
- Machine frames for panels and covers
- Open welded frames with gusseted corners that carry a machine's panels, guards, and housings, with studs and nuts where the covers attach.
- Mounting plates and gussets
- Plates cut with the hole pattern for the equipment, welded into the frame, and gussets that brace the corners beside them.
- Welded subassemblies
- A frame with its plates and hardware welded as a unit, to bolt into a larger machine.
Welding heat, weld access, and mating patterns
- Mounting faces
- Welding heat moves a frame as the joints cool, and the plates that take the equipment move with it. A plate that shifts leaves the holes off the equipment's pattern, so we fit the frame up around the mounting faces and choose the weld sequence to hold them.
- Weld access
- A torch needs a clear line to the joint, and a member placed early can close off the joint behind it. We weld the internal corners before the members that hide them go in.
- Mating patterns
- A subassembly bolts to a frame or housing built somewhere else, so both hole patterns have to agree after welding. We lay out the plates from the mating drawing as well as the frame drawing.
Weld to the mounting faces, then finish
Grinding and masking are planned with the weld sequence, so the welds you mark visible are flush before the powder goes on and no thread fills with coating.
Cut and form
We laser cut the plates and gussets, form the channel on the press brake, and lay out the mounting plates from your frame drawing.
Fit up and weld
We fit the frame up in the sequence its access allows and MIG or TIG weld it, holding the mounting faces in position.
Grind, fit hardware, and coat
We grind the marked welds flush, install studs and nuts, and powder coat the frame, or leave it bare.
Keep the mounting bolts accessible
A mounting hole can be clear on an empty frame and difficult to reach once the equipment is seated. The mounting foot, plate overhang and nearby frame members determine whether a nut can be fitted and a wrench can engage it.
Check the joint with the equipment in position, including access to hold the bolt head and room to turn the tool beneath the plate. A crossmember or gusset can leave the hole exposed while blocking that movement; resolve the fastening sequence before releasing the weldment.
The plate overhang puts the nut beyond the post, where a wrench can approach it. Check this access with the equipment seated: the mounting hole may be clear while a nearby frame member blocks the tool.
What to send for a welded frame quote
- Frame drawing
- Plate, channel, or tube sizes, material grade, weld symbols, and revision.
- Mounting layout
- Hole patterns for the equipment and for any mating assembly, with the equipment's weight.
- Weld finish
- Visible faces, and the welds on them to grind flush.
- Coating and hardware
- Powder coat color, part numbers for the studs and nuts, and threads to mask.
- Quantity and delivery
- Frames per order, repeat demand, and delivery date.