Two Voortman V807 seven-axis robotic plasma copers — cuts, copes, weld-prep bevels, holes and layout marking on beams, channels, angles and tube in a single pass, programmed straight from the structural model.
Manufacturer footage of the machine FabTek runs for this work. Press play to load the video from YouTube.
Substation structures, transmission steel and equipment stands are mostly wide-flange, channel and angle with copes, bolt holes, weld preps and layout marks — the kind of work that used to mean a saw, a mag drill, a torch and a fitter with a tape. A robotic plasma coper does all of it in one setup: the beam feeds in, the seven-axis robot cuts the end profile and copes, bevels for weld prep, cuts holes and slots, scribes layout and part marks, and the finished member comes out ready for fit-up.
FabTek runs two Voortman V807 copers, programmed directly from the structural model our engineering group details in. That is what lets a structures package move from released drawings to fit-up without a layout step in between, and it is why a dead-end structure with dozens of members fits together on the shop floor the way it fit together in the model. The copers sit alongside the drill line, angle line and saws in a structural cell, with fit-up and welding next door.
Dead-end and A-frame columns and beams, bus supports, equipment stand members with copes, holes and marks.
Crossarms, vangs and connection plates cut and prepped for galvanized structures.
Bevels cut in the same pass as the end profile for full-penetration welds on heavy connections.
Platform, mezzanine, skid and support-frame members for equipment skids and platforms and cable tray supports.
HSS and pipe cut, coped and holed for stands, frames and railings.
Beams cut, coped and drilled to a detailer's model for erectors and fabricators who weld and finish elsewhere.
DSTV/NC1 files from the detailing model, no manual layout.
Cut-to-length members load onto the roller conveyor and measure in automatically.
The seven-axis robot does the end profile, copes, holes and part marks in one pass.
Members go to the welding cells, then to galvanizing through our partners, and ship match-marked.
Every galvanized structure in a substation package — dead-end and A-frame structures, bus supports and equipment stands — runs across the copers. So does the structural steel under data center equipment, conveyor mezzanines and platforms, and the arms and plates on tubular steel poles. Erectors and other fabricators also send us structural processing to keep their own shops on fit-up and welding.
| Machines | Two Voortman V807 seven-axis robotic plasma copers |
|---|---|
| Profiles | Wide-flange, channel, angle, flat bar, HSS and pipe |
| Operations | End cuts, copes, notches, holes and slots, weld-prep bevels, layout scribing and part marking in one pass |
| Programming | Direct from the structural model — Tekla, SDS/2 and IFC exports; DSTV/NC1 accepted |
| Upstream | HE&M band saws cut to length; Peddinghaus PCD-1100B drill line and Anglemaster 643 angle line in the same cell |
| Downstream | Fit-up, AWS D1.1 welding, hot-dip galvanizing through partners |
| Traceability | Heat numbers carried by member; match-marking to the erection drawings; ISO 9001:2015 |
| Also specified as | Beam coping, robotic coping, plasma coping, structural steel processing, beam line, CNC beam processing, structural steel cutting services |
Representative capabilities — exact ranges, ratings, and finishes are confirmed per project. Send drawings for a firm quote.
A substation structures package is released in stages, and every stage wants the coper at the same time the last one did. Running two V807s lets FabTek keep one on a program's steady release schedule while the other absorbs a rush structure, a revision or another customer's package without pushing either date. The copers are also why our engineering group details in a structural model rather than 2D: the model programs the machine, and a revision reprograms it without a fitter re-laying out a member. Our post on the structures package and detailing steel walks through how that flows.
Built at four production sites in Hazlehurst, Mississippi.
ISO 9001:2015 quality management, AWS-certified welding, OSHA-compliant facilities.
In-house powder coat backed by an IEEE 2000-hour salt-spray certification.
Reserved-line capacity and the automation to grow with your volume.
A structural processing machine that uses a multi-axis robot with a plasma torch to cut end profiles, copes, holes, bevels and marks on beams, channels and angles in one pass, programmed from a 3D model. FabTek runs two Voortman V807s.
FabTek Industries processes structural steel on two Voortman V807 copers, a Peddinghaus drill line and angle line at its Hazlehurst, Mississippi plants, and fabricates, welds and galvanizes the same steel on site.
Yes. We accept Tekla, SDS/2, IFC and DSTV/NC1 files and program the copers directly from them; our engineering group also details from your engineered drawings.
Yes. Cut, coped and drilled members ship match-marked to your model for your own fit-up and welding.
Explore related lines: Substation structures · Dead-end & A-frame structures · Bus supports & equipment stands · Transmission structures
Further reading: The structures package: detailing steel · Bolt-hole tolerances for substation steel · Fabrication and galvanizing, step by step
Have a structures package or a processing run? Send the model or the drawings — we'll come back with a plan and a firm price, typically within one business day.