my bracket only looks square while it's trapped

SofiaChan1065 · 17 Feb 2026, 16:40 UTC

Closed
SO
SofiaChan1065
I'm sorting the proposal notes for an FR10 welding cell and our gusseted bracket is lovely in the fixture, then the released hole spacing fails, then someone corrects it and the final pass gets copied over the first failure, so I can't even tell which bit of this job we're budgeting for anymore

16 replies

AN
AnnaArcher0416
Replying to SofiaChan1065

Which drawing revision governs the released hole spacing? And what supports the bracket during that measurement? Start there. A photograph of it clamped square is not a measurement of the finished bracket.

7points
GR
GraceCarter1016
Replying to SofiaChan1065

Restraint can hide a lot. Don't start by tightening the clamps harder.

20points
MI
MinaChan1120
Replying to AnnaArcher0416

I had two support sets with the same bench nickname. The drawing revision helped us find the right one. Is your check arrangement actually identified?

7points
SO
SofiaChan1065
Replying to MinaChan1120

Anna, drawing P, measured released on the inspection support named on that sheet; Mina, yes there's an asset label and it matches, I've checked that rather than trusting the nickname this time

16points
LU
LucaAli0178
Replying to SofiaChan1065

Then you've got a usable before-and-after comparison if you keep the part identities together. For the fixture model I'd show where each piece sits before the clamps close, otherwise you can accidentally draw the corrected shape as the starting shape

6points
NI
NinaChen1197
Replying to GraceCarter1016

Why are we blaming the weld already? Could the gusset be wrong before anyone strikes an arc? I would want that answered before paying for a different welding sequence.

9points
SA
SaraBaker0461
Replying to NinaChen1197

We mixed two almost identical gussets once. Awful afternoon. Worth looking at the actual edges.

6points
SA
SamBrooks0855
Replying to SofiaChan1065

Do you have a check before welding, Sofia? Even one identified example would help explain what the fixture is doing to the parts.

11points
SO
SofiaChan1065
Replying to SamBrooks0855

The fabricator has a fit-up photo from the failed bracket and the gusset isn't against the rear stop before clamping, I'd missed that because the later photo is all closed up (thanks Sam, wrong photo was doing all the talking)

5points
AD
AdamBurke
Replying to LucaAli0178

Luca, show the intended seating too. A gap in one photo isn't automatically the design.

21points
LU
LucaAli0178
Replying to AdamBurke

Yes, both. I'd label the photo as the observed fit-up and put the designer's intended contacts beside it, so nobody models that gap as something we're meant to preserve

13points
MA
Martin_Blair
Replying to SofiaChan1065

We found a locator from an earlier assembly on a similar fixture. A comparison of the fitted stop with its drawing was cheaper than our first proposed experiment.

0points
SO
SofiaChan1065
Replying to Martin_Blair

Tooling found an old stop still fitted behind the gusset, its number belongs to the earlier bracket and the current assembly calls for a different face position, so the fabricator wasn't imagining the awkward fit

5points
AN
AnnaArcher0416
Replying to SofiaChan1065

Have they checked first release after correcting that assembly? Keep any later correction separate. That will tell your estimator whether the old allowance still describes this job.

10points
SO
SofiaChan1065
Replying to AnnaArcher0416

Three identified brackets through the corrected fixture now, all passed the P check at first release with no correction, and the estimator has replaced the old assumed correction time with those actual observations plus a note that it's only three parts; I can finally explain the price change without pretending the first failures never happened

5points
GR
GraceCarter1016
Replying to SofiaChan1065

Who checks that stop after a changeover? Put a name against it while everyone remembers.

10points

Discussion closed

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