Duct Shop Fabrication processes

An HVAC Duct Fabrication Shop makes Rectangular Duct and Fittings that serve as the trunk line on commercial jobs. Each job is unique and requires ductwork that’s custom made to accommodate the engineer’s design and the General Contractor’s completion requirements. The goal of a shop foreman is to have fabrication machines based upon his shop’s […]

When a shop is securing weld pins to Fiberglass Duct Liner, it’s typical that they use pins that have a shorter length than the thickness of the liner. On 1″ Fiberglass Duct Liner, for example, 3/4″ long weld pins are used. This compression resembles the quilted look of buttons on a leather chair. By spotting

The Duro Dyne MFPT Compact Pinspotter was staple in duct shops throughout the USA for many decades. For smaller shops, it was their sole means of spotting weld pins to ductwork; for larger shops it was used on all lined fittings and the FG-1 Bulk Feed pinspotter was used on Straight Duct. The fact that

In HVAC Ductwork, Pressure and Velocity are two standards around which Engineers design duct plans. Building duct to a Higher Pressure class however doesn’t improve the system’s performance in handling vibrations that accompany changes in Velocity. In Duct Fabrication, the familiar criteria on the checklist towards reaching an excellent Pressure Class performance include Duct Gauge

The correct way to Order a Square Elbow:  In fabrication of Square Elbows, there are four pieces: two Cheeks (which will end up being the sides of the elbow), one Throat, and one Heel. In the fabrication process everything starts with the Cheek. The first dimension of an Elbow is always the Cheek size; the

Rectangular Duct is hung with 1″ wide 22 gauge (or 20, or 18 gauge) Galvanized Strips that is supplied to the field along with the fabricated ductwork. 10 ft strips, cut and bundled, is the most common. (Some shops use 100 lb coils though any savings in “drop” are negated by the much higher cost of the

You’ll often hear duct shops refer to “Small Pittsburgh” and “Large Pittsburgh” when they reference their fabrication processes. A duct shop may say for example, “we run Large Pitts on straight duct and Small Pittsburgh on fittings” yet, nowhere will you see this differentiation in SMACNA or by Engineers (in Job Specs). That’s because there’s

Now that Duro Dyne has redesigned the CCD110 and it looks just like a smaller version of the MF12, what are the differences? After all, they are used the same exact way and have the same (16 gauge) capacity. While Both machines are Single Phase electrics, the CCD-110 runs off 110 Volt (which means it

Rectangular Ductwork is typically insulated internally with Duct Liner rather than externally with Duct Wrap because of the acoustical benefits. Most duct shops will have two pinspotters for use in securing the Duct Liner to the Metal ductwork: a free standing “FG” model with a 5 ft throat and a smaller “MF” model with a 12

Roof Curb manufacturers use a lot of 1″ Duct Liner. They also use a lot of adhesive to adhere the liner to the metal and then a much higher than normal % of weld pins to secure the liner to the metal. Why so many weld pins? After all, In a typical HVAC Duct shop the usage

Turning Vane is used to “turn” the air flow in 90 degree Square Elbows on Rectangular Duct jobs.  These Vanes are usually cut on a chopsaw from 10 ft lengths then Mounted on Rail that is itself screwed onto each of the Elbow’s interior cheeks.  The efficiency of Turning Vanes in Square Elbows is understanding

Portable Pinspotter PBF520 Heavy Duty Pinspotter The PBF520 Portable Pinspotter features a multi-tap transformer allowing it to deliver precise, timed, low voltage to the welding tip for precision welds. This machine will weld pins from ½ inch to 4 inches long on steel from 26 to 16 gauge. A new, innovative, ergonomic, high impact gun

Vicon 510-SL Duct Liner Cutting System One of the most manual tasks in Duct Shops is the process of laying out, measuring, and manually cutting Liner Fittings to their corresponding metal Fitting. Add to that the excessive waste accumulated from measuring mistakes and poor cut optimization and you’ve identified the most inefficient of any of

Cradle Caddy and Shear for Flexible Duct Connector FDCAB4 Connector Dispenser The Cradle Caddy keeps up to three rolls of Flexible Duct Connector or Vane Rail within easy reach, anywhere in the shop. Full swivel casters make movement around the shop possible, and ball bearing rollers quickly dispense connector with a simple pull. A foot

Plenum Boxes insulated with Duct Liner for Residential A plenum box fits over the inside unit and is the first stage of the air supply. Holes, usually 2, are cut out of the box. These holes, typically 12” or 14” diameter round are cut out by the HVAC contractor during the install. A round Airtite

Duct Knives for Fiberglass Liner and Elastomeric Duro Dyne SAK6 — 6″ Stainless Steel Knife with Sheath     Can cut a wide variety of insulation including fiberglass, cotton, and rubber…        

Standoff Regulator   This 15 position indexing regulator features a triggerless 3/4″ twist locking nut that fixes the regulator in place once set. Designed for use with square rod onboth square and round externally insulated duct, it is offered in two standoff heights, 1-1/2’’ & 2’’.   The Dyna-Click is engineered with a heavy duty

Dyn-O-Loc Condu Lock—Duct Reinforcement   Tie Rods can be used to support duct sizes over 48” or smaller duct in high pressure applications. Dyn-O-Locs insert into the ends of the hollow tie rods to provide a means of attaching the conduit to the duct. • Available for use with 1/2” or 3/4’’ Conduit.• Properly installed Dyn-O-Loc

Duct Film Wrap Dyn-O-Wrap is a self-adhesive film which can protect uninstalled duct sections from the intrusion of contaminates. While duct is handled, stored, or transported, its interior is unprotected from water, dust and debris. Dyn-O-Wrap applied over the openings will securely seal the duct and block this exposure. With adhesion strong enough to resist

Bull Nosing Double Wall Rectangular Duct and Covering the Raw Edge of Duct Liner on the four sides: Press On Bull Nosing Angle as a labor savings vs Making Angle in House SMACNA calls for Bullnosing over the exposed Duct Liner Edge that’s facing the airstream, near a fan or in high velocity systems. Ductmate

Volume Damper …how to identify a shop installing these in house How do you know if a shop is making and installing Dampers in the Square to Round Transitions they make…?  …look for the Round Holes on the Sleeve. This means that they are installing a Volume Damper in the shop before it goes out

Precharged Cylinders as an alternative to Pogo Pump System The area where a shop sprays Adhesive onto the Metal prior to applying Duct Liner is the messiest area in every Duct fab shops due to the nature of the wide Spray pattern from a Pogo style pump system, the operator adjustments to the nozzle and the

Buying Out Hanger Strap vs. Cutting in House Shops love to use up their “drop” but rarely, if ever, is drop 10 ft long. This means shops are taking 4 x 10 or 5 x 10 prime sheets and cutting 48″ to 60″ strips off each sheet, then taking about 25 of the strips, stacking

Duct Liner Adhesive Mix your own duct liner adhesive with Gecko Glue Concentrate…   Ductmate Chemical and industrial engineers have created a solution for duct liner adhesive users that will allow them to mix their own adhesive on demand, save storage space, and save money.  Introducing…Gecko Glue Concentrate, Ductmate’s latest innovation in duct liner adhesives and