Precision Fabrication for Stainless Steel Tubular Frames (Updated for 2023)

Last updated on November 27th, 2023 at 10:01 am

Our medical and pharmaceutical customers frequently compliment us on the stainless steel tubular frames we fabricate for them.

They especially appreciate that we get their frames right the first time, which we attribute to a unique and proven approach that differentiates us from other custom metal fabrication shops.

Today, we’ll pull back the curtain and spill (just a few) of our secrets to fabricating beautifully welded stainless steel tubular frames.

Essential Characteristics of Stainless Steel Tubular Frames for the Medical and Pharmaceutical Industries

Stainless steel tubular frames are a critical element of the equipment infrastructure for the medical and pharmaceutical industries. The frames are often used in sterile environments and therefore must be incredibly smooth—free of any ridges or grooves that could collect bacteria. They also need to be sturdy enough to hold up to repeated use and frequent cleaning.

The smooth, polished appearance of the frames makes them aesthetically pleasing, reinforcing the sense of cleanliness that people expect in hospital and lab settings.

But in addition to appearing smooth, clean, and beautiful, stainless steel tubular frames must function as intended. Ideally, customers send their frames directly from their sheet metal fabricator to the assembly floor—a process that Approved Sheet Metal makes entirely seamless.

Why Work with Approved Sheet Metal for Your Stainless Steel Tubular Frames?

Here are a few of our differentiators when it comes to fabricating stainless steel tubular frames that are assembly-ready:

Use of jigs. Fabricators use jigs during manual work to hold the position of a tool in place, improving accuracy and repeatability. In the context of stainless steel tubular frames, we leverage jigs to ensure that the pattern of holes matches up as we move along the length of each frame. The frames are often so large that there's very little room for error. They also typically have tight tolerance requirements to ensure sturdiness and cleanliness, increasing the need for precision and accuracy.

Welding expertise. Weld distortion—which occurs when heat warps the metal—is often inevitable during welding. We do everything in our power to prevent this outcome, but one thing that sets us apart from the competition is our ability to anticipate and compensate for distortion in situations where it may be unavoidable. Here are standard workarounds we employ to get stainless steel tubular frames right the first time:

• Taking a subassembly approach to building a frame. We build the frames in several subassemblies to minimize distortion. This approach also allows us to move through grinding and polishing more quickly because it’s easier to work with the smaller fabrications.
• Welding in phases. In some cases, we’ll weld part of the frame and then allow it to cool before returning to it for any minor adjustments. Thanks to our decades of experience welding custom sheet metal fabrications, we know exactly how long to heat components without causing distortion.

Quality assurance. We have a rigorous quality inspection process for stainless steel tubular frames, verifying hole patterns and other critical requirements to ensure frames are ready to move directly to a customer’s assembly floor. We also take extreme care to maintain the integrity of frames during packing and shipping. Our team members are trained on properly loading the frames onto the truck so that each one reaches its destination in pristine condition.

At Approved Sheet Metal, we're proud to contribute to the medical and pharmaceutical industries and are passionate about the stainless steel tubular frames we fabricate. We approach each frame as if we’re making a piece of jewelry or a fine work of art—that’s how serious we are about these parts! Request a quote from our custom metal fabrication shop today.