Stainless steel constructions

Stainless steel constructions combine strength with corrosion resistance. We weld and assemble in stainless steel 304 and 316, with finishing (pickling, passivation) matched to the application — for example in the food industry.

Our stainless steel structural work combines tube laser cutting for ready-to-fit profiles with TIG and laser welding, followed by pickling and passivation so the material's corrosion resistance is preserved after processing.

Would you like a stainless steel frame made? Send us your drawing or sketch — we assess manufacturability and think along on profile choice and welding sequence before production starts.

The choice between stainless steel 304 and 316 often determines the service life of the structure. Stainless steel 316 contains molybdenum and is therefore more resistant to pitting corrosion in environments with chlorides — seawater, cleaning agents, brine. Stainless steel 304 is sufficient in drier and less aggressive conditions and is more economical. We set out the trade-off in more detail in our article on stainless steel 304 or 316 (in Dutch).

What sets stainless steel construction work apart from steel is not the welding itself, but what happens around it. Stainless steel has to be kept separate from carbon steel: dedicated tools, dedicated brushes, a dedicated work area. Residual steel dust rusts and draws rust spots onto an otherwise perfect surface — a mistake that only becomes visible weeks later, when the structure has long since been delivered.

After welding there is heat tint around the seam. That is not merely cosmetic: at that spot the chromium oxide layer has been damaged and the material is susceptible to corrosion. We pickle or blast that zone and then passivate, so that the oxide layer restores itself. For aluminium and stainless steel we have our own blasting cabin of 8 × 4 × 3 metres with glass beads of 100–200 μm.

For the profiles we use the Trumpf TruLaser Tube 3000. Cut-outs, mitres and pass-throughs come straight off the tube laser, so that parts fit without manual work and the seams stay even. That saves welding time and — more importantly with stainless steel — finishing, because every extra grinding operation is another spot that has to be treated again.

Hygienic environments impose additional requirements on the execution: fully welded and smoothly ground seams instead of tack welds, no cavities in which moisture can stand, and rounded transitions where possible. Tell us with your request whether the structure has to be cleanable and with which agents; that determines both the material choice and the seam execution.

Our structures go up to 10 tonnes unit weight and 8 metres in height. For welding we work under ISO 3834-2 and for load-bearing structures under EN 1090-1; our quality system is certified to ISO 9001.

Materials: Stainless steel 304 · Stainless steel 316