Since Rectangular Duct fabrication revolves around the Longitudinal and Transverse profiles, the “must have” machines are mostly ones that fall into one of those two categories, so here we go…
#1. Pittsburgh Machine: This machine rollforms the female pocket seam and since Pittsburgh is the universally accepted lock in commercial HVAC ductwork, every shop has a standard Model 24 or 20 ga Pittsburgh Machine. The pittsburgh lock consists of the Female and Male Pitts that, when seated and hammered over into a lock, enables the 4 sides to become one assembled section or fitting. On straight duct there are usually 2 Pittsburgh seams to lock; on fittings there are usually 4 seams to lock. An option to Pittsburgh for Low Pressure Duct is Rectangular “Snaplock”. This is fabricated with a Buttonlock machine, a rollformer that runs Female Snaplock on one side, Male Snaplock on the other.
#2. Manual Cleat Bender: “Turning” the drive is something you’ll hear every shop doing, sometimes all day, every day because S and Drive duct is the most common Transverse Joint in commercial duct.
#3. Manual Cheek Bender: This machine bends an inward turning 1/4″ tall 90 degree flange to serve as the Male Pittsburgh on square elbows and fittings.
Blog: What is the difference between a Cheekbender and a Cleatbender?
#4. Manual Edger: Lockformer’s Easy Edger is to Radius Elbows what the Cheekbender is to Square Elbows. It forms a 7/32″ Right Angle Flange on a curve. We always wondered why they didn’t just make it a full 1/4″ …but 7/32″ is close enough to serve it’s purpose: the male Pittsburgh flange for the two cheeks of a Radius Elbow or Fitting.
#5. 3 ft 22 ga Manual Roller: After running the female Pitts on each heel and throat of a soon to be radius elbow, the next step is forming it into a Radius on a Roller like this then adding the 2 sides (cheeks).
#6. 52″ Stomp Shear: every shop has to cut Galvanized sheets and this is more efficient than the alternative of a Hand Shear.
And finally, because you are always bending duct…
#7. Bench mount 4 ft x 22 gauge Box and Pan Brake:
#8. Floor mount 10 ft 16 ga Hand Brake:
Note: we didn’t include the Plasma Table system in this list . While we regard it as an essential machine in most any Duct shop, there have been shops will a skilled layout man that have managed without one.
