PTL Fabricators - Custom Fabricators – Clarksville, Tennessee

There are plenty of things you can do to keep your steel building cool during the upcoming warmer months. PTL has a few tips for you.

Add a cool metal roof

• Roofs that are light in color and have reflective coatings can reflect the sun’s UV rays away from your metal building.
• Traditional roofing materials can heat up as high as 190º on a hot summer day.
• You can keep inside temperatures down by installing a cool metal roof.

Upgrade insulation

• If you have an older metal building, upgrading your insulation will help bring your building up to current energy efficiency standards.
• If you’re designing a new building, make sure your insulation meets the minimum suggested R-value for your area.
• Some local electric companies provide incentives like rebates or affordable financing to make these changes feasible.

Ventilation

• Adequate ventilation is a good way to keep temperatures at a minimum.
• Use natural ventilation by opening windows at night and then keeping them closed during the day to keep the cool air inside. Use a programmable thermostat that will keep your A/C from cycling on when windows are open.
• Use ventilation in your attic space to vent out hot air back outside.

Add awnings, and canopies

• Awning and overhangs will yield a noticeable difference.
• Extend your roof or add awnings to west and south facing exposure to the sun.

Use landscaping

• Plant trees and shrubs that will shade western and southern exposed walls and windows.
• Plant deciduous trees that will drop their leaves, allowing you to benefit from the sun’s rays on colder days.

PTL is an official Butler Building® contractor. We use over 30 years of experience to tackle our industry’s toughest challenges with innovative solutions. Our reputation for customer satisfaction and quality makes PTL Fabricators a trusted source for businesses of all sizes. To learn more about custom metal building construction, contact PTL.

Industrial filtration systems are essential for day-to-day operations. Here are some of the reasons why a custom-built filtration system from PTL Fabricators can help.

The benefits of employing a filtration system:

• Removes particulate matter and substances from liquids
• Enables liquids, oils, and coolants to be reused
• Protects you tools and equipment from damage
• Stops contamination from spreading*
• Cleans water
• Improves the overall performance of equipment

*This is especially important today because of COVID-19 which can be spread through ventilation systems.

It’s easy to see why so many companies invest in top-quality industrial filtration systems and also why not doing so could be costly to your company.

Improved Safety

• A well-ventilated and properly filtered, environment is essential to helping employees maintain their focus. Dust, debris, chemicals, and unpleasant odors can affect the breathing of your employees.
• The use of proper ventilation filtration can reduce these dangers and distraction.

Simplified Maintenance

• Custom filtration systems are designed to help simplify the process of maintenance.
• They are designed to include easy access filters that will need changing as well as other parts that will need to be checked or replaced more frequently.

Reduce Environmental Impact

• Facilities with custom fabricated systems can take advantage of streamlined space, along with systems that are designed to reduce waste and eliminate environmental toxins without sacrificing air quality.
• Existing industrial facilities can be retrofitted with custom designs that take into account the existing space.
• New facilities use custom fabrication designs to create a sustainable environment in order to provide safety and help with their long-term business goals.

To learn more about custom industrial air filtration systems for your existing facility, or new industrial space, contact PTL.

We use over 30 years of experience to tackle our industry’s toughest challenges with innovative solutions. Our reputation for customer satisfaction and quality makes PTL Fabricators a trusted source for businesses of all sizes.

At PTL Fabricators we do a lot of different things with a lot of different metals. Here is a list of some of the processes we use when working with sheet metal 

You might not know the terms for what we do at PTL, so here’s a glossary of some common sheet metal fabrication terms we might use. 

• Assembling: A process done by welding, binding, and adhesives, and bending.
• Bending: A process done by hammering or by press brakes.
• Blanking: When a part is cut out of sheet metal.
• Cutting: A process done by sawing, shearing, or chiseling with either manual or power tools or torching, using computer numerical computer (CNC) cutters like lasers.
• Finishing: The process in which a completed project’s surface is altered to achieve a certain property or improved appearance like:
  • Wear resistance
  • Hardness
  • Electrical conductivity
  • And blemish removal
• Galvanizing: A process of applying a protective zinc coating to steel or iron to prevent rusting.
• Metal punching: The process in which metal fabrication equipment punches holes, louvers, or predetermined shapes out of sheet metal.
• Roll forming: A constant bending process in which sheet metal passes through rolls that form the metal. See our video here.
• Tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding: A two-handed arc welding process that uses a non-consumable tungsten electrode to produce the weld.
• Oxyacetylene welding: The process in which a tank of oxygen and acetylene combine with an adjustable torch to result in precise, controlled flames used to heat metal.

Whether it’s welding, pressing, hammering, cutting, or any of the many processes that you can do with metal, at PTL Fabricators, we have the experience and knowledge to handle any of your sheet metal fabrication needs.

When you want to know about metal, turn to the experts at PTL Fabricators. We utilize more than 30 years of industrial experience to tackle our industry’s toughest challenges with inventive solutions. Contact us today.

Steel is the favored metal used by metal fabricators like PTL Fabricators. Here are a few facts about steel

Steel is a low-carbon alloy that’s typically made of iron, tin, and carbon. It can withstand corrosion, heat, and pressure. For these reasons and the fact that steel is easy to recycle, make it undoubtedly the best metal for metal fabrication.

Recyclable

• 69% of steel is recycled each year, which is more than paper, aluminum, plastic, and glass combined.
• 80 million tons of steel is recycled each year.
• Steel is roughly 1,000 times stronger than iron and can be recycled without losing strength.
• Steel is the main material used in delivering renewable energy like solar, hydro, and wind power.
• More than 600 steel cans are recycled every second.
• Recycling a single steel can saves enough energy to power a 60-watt light bulb for almost 4 years.

Steel Usage

• Steel roofs last more than 50 years.
• 75% of all major appliances are made of steel.
• The average computer is about 25% steel.

Fun Facts

• The first steel building was the Home Insurance Building in Chicago in 1884.
• Because steel expands when heated, the Eiffel Tower is about 6 inches taller in the summer than in the winter.
• The first steel-made automobile was produced in 1918.
  • Seatbelts are required due to their consistent ability to withstand high-impact crashes.
• Steel bridges are four to eight times lighter than those built from concrete.
• The Golden Gate Bridge took 83,000 tons of steel to build.
• Two-thirds of all canned goods use steel.

When you want to know about metal, turn to the experts at PTL Fabricators. We utilize more than 30 years of industrial experience to tackle our industry’s toughest challenges with inventive solutions. Contact us today.

Metals have been around for thousands of years. We need metal for building construction, tools, machinery, plumbing, automobiles, and more. At PTL Fabricators, we know all about metal.

Here are some interesting facts about metal:

• 75% of all elements on the periodic table are metals.
• Iron is the most abundant metal on earth.
  • The most common metal in the Earth’s crust is aluminum.
• Silver conducts electricity.
• Mercury is the only metal that’s liquid at room temperature and pressure.
• Tungsten has the highest melting point of any metal at 3,400 degrees C.
• Alloys contain two or more elements mixed together.
  • Usually two metals or a metal and non-metal.
  • Alloys are used in construction for their durability, strength, and resistance to weather.
  • The most common alloys are carbon steel, aluminum, copper tubing, and stainless steel.

• Iron is galvanized by dipping it into molten metals.
  • Galvanization helps prevent rust.
• Galvanized metal has many uses in industrial and architectural metal fabrication.
  • This is especially useful for outdoor use such as handrails, flashing and gutters, chain link fencing, nails, playground equipment, and more.
  • It is also used in aircraft, automobile, and ship production.

Up until the middle ages, the only known metals were:

• Bronze
• Iron
• Gold
• Copper
• Silver
• Mercury

69% of all steel is recycled in North America each year.

Steel was first used for skyscrapers in 1885. The Home Insurance Building.

Brass doorknobs and handrails are used in public buildings because brass is naturally antibacterial.

Explosion Welding is a powerful process that can join nearly every kind of metal together. Most welding methods cannot do this.

When you want to know more about metal, turn to the experts at PTL Fabricators. We utilize more than 30 years of industrial experience to tackle our industry’s toughest challenges with inventive solutions. Contact us today.

The two most important metalworking processes are welding and fabrication. Some people think they are the same thing but PTL wants you to know the difference between welding and the technique of metal fabrication

Many people use fabricating and welding as interchangeable verbs but that’s not quite the case. In its most basic sense, fabrication is the process of creating a project out of metal, and welding can be a singular operation during that process. 

Welding

• Welding involves fusing two or more pieces of metal. 
• Common welding techniques include
  • Shielded metal arc welding
  • Gas metal arc welding
  • Gas tungsten arc welding
  • Flux core arc welding

Fabrication

• Fabrication begins with layout and design.
• Designers concern themselves with layout creation
  • Cutting
  • Machining
  • Forming of metal parts
• Fabricators use different tools and techniques in order to fabricate metal products.

Tools

• Fabricators usually begin the process by cutting sheets of metal down to the appropriate size, using
  • Cutting machines
  • Mechanical saws
  • Laser cutters
  • Plasma torches
• Welding, by contrast, uses a different set of tools that include
  • Torches
  • Consumable electrodes
  • And the need for auto-darkening welding helmets to protect the workers’ eyes from the ultraviolet rays that welding produces.

Skills

• Metal fabrication utilizes a broad array of metalworking techniques to create the structures and components necessary to achieve the desired results

Metal fabrication deals with the entire process: the welding, cutting, bending and assembling of metal parts. In manufacturing and construction, certain tasks revolving around fabrication are often performed by welders, while fabricators also perform welding occasionally. However, the two positions are not interchangeable.

When you want to know about metal, turn to the experts at PTL Fabricators. We utilize more than 30 years of industrial experience to tackle our industry’s toughest challenges with inventive solutions. Contact us today.

Scrap metal is one of the most valuable products you can recycle 

PTL is here to give you some information on recycling the different kinds of metal and why it’s important.

Metal recycling prep

• The general rule for scrap metal recycling is that it needs to be at least 50% metal.
  • Even if the metal is surrounded by another material, like plastic, it’s still worth recycling.
• Scrap metal is classified as either ferrous and nonferrous.
  • The way to tell the difference is with a magnet.
  • Ferrous metals stick to a magnet, nonferrous metals don’t.
• Ferrous metals:
  • Steel
    • Made by adding iron to carbon.
  • Carbon Steel
    • Has a higher carbon content than other metals.
  • Alloy steel
    • Incorporates elements of chromium, nickel, and titanium.
  • Cast iron
    • Made from iron, carbon, and silicon.
  • Wrought iron
    • An alloy with so little carbon content it’s almost pure iron.
• Nonferrous metals:
  • Aluminum
    • Lightweight, soft and low strength
  • Copper
    • Red in color, highly ductile, malleable, and conductive to electricity and heat.
  • Lead
    • Soft, heavy, malleable with a low melting point.
  • Zinc
    • Medium to low strength with a very low melting point.
  • Tin
    • Very soft and malleable with low tensile strength. 

Why recycle metal?

• Metal is in limited supply. We can manufacture more glass and plastic from natural resources, we can’t make more aluminum, copper, and steel.
• Are we going to run out of metals? According to Forbes.com, maybe!

How are metals recycled?

• All metals eventually end up at a scrap metal yard, where they are separated by type.
• The metals are then crushed and compacted and melted in a furnace and made into metal sheets.
• The metal sheets are then used to make new metal products.

When you want to know about metal, turn to the experts at PTL Fabricators. We utilize more than 30 years of industrial experience to tackle our industry’s toughest challenges with inventive solutions. Contact us today.

We provide quality service at PTL Fabricators to ensure cost-effective day-to-day operations

What does Facility Maintenance involve?

Facility maintenance provides effective day-to-day preventative and predictive programs to keep your facility running smoothly all the time.

Why hire PTL for your Facility Maintenance?

We are proficient in:

• Rebuilding power plants
• Chemical plants
• Steel mills
• Wastewater treatment facilities
• Industrial factories

As well as providing structural maintenance and repairs necessary for daily production and manufacturing.

Our teams of craftsmen are highly skilled in:

• Steelwork
• Assembly and equipment installation
• Overhead cranes*
• Large conveyors
• Large motor and gear changes
• Erection of silos
• Erection of bunkers
• Heavy rigging and lifting

* Cranes:

PTL has the cranes and equipment necessary for rigging and heavy lifting. Many jobs require the service of a heavy rigger and crane to install or remove large equipment, furnaces, bag-house, and fabrication line equipment. This involves the use of specialized rigging gear and trained crews of people to be able to provide this service. In conjunction with rigging services, PTL is able to provide heavy hauling transportation services for equipment that is being moved to another location. Due to the heavy nature of this process and depending on the site and specifics of the project, sometimes dual, triple, and even quad crane lifts are necessary to execute a job. No matter the size and nature, PTL has an experienced crew to fit your project.

PTL Fabricators can handle all aspects of your facility maintenance from start to finish. What designs as an inconvenience for many of our customers often becomes a lifelong relationship of ease and simplicity with competitive pricing. If you’d like to learn more about how we can become your facility repair partner, we invite you to get in touch with us today.

Turn to the experts at PTL Fabricators. We utilize more than 30 years of industrial experience to tackle our industry’s toughest challenges with inventive solutions. Contact us today.

PTL Fabricators is proud to be your local Butler® Builder

Here are a few reasons why:

• Proven building quality
  • The difference is in the details. Butler® building components are designed for strength, durability, longevity, and sustainability.
• Built-in lifetime savings
  • Delivering buildings that add value to your bottom line for years to come is a top priority.
  • Energy efficiency like “cool roofs” that help lower roof temperatures and reduce the amount of energy required to cool the building.
• Maintenance and replacement
  • Up to 90 percent of a building’s total cost is incurred after construction so choosing options that offer long life spans and require little maintenance can have a significant impact on future budgets.
• Leading design capabilities
  • We have the engineering expertise and technology to make virtually any building design a reality. Plus their building systems are known for their versatility.
  • Design capabilities.
• Pioneering innovations
  • Our innovations help you build better through more flexible and durable building systems and technology that streamlines the building process.
  • Butler® Builders were the first to market game-changing innovations like the world’s first weathertight standing-seam metal roof. The result of thousands of hours of planning, testing, designing, failing, trying again, and achieving breakthroughs.
  • Examples can be found here
• Dedicated to research and development
  • Butler® Builders constantly push the boundaries to find better answers to building challenges.
• Better worker safety
  • They developed a fall support system that greatly reduces the distance of a fall and severity of injury to help keep workers safe on Butler® buildings.

There are so many reasons why you should make the choice of a Butler® Building and so many reasons why you should choose PTL Fabricators as your local builder.

Turn to the experts at PTL Fabricators. We utilize more than 30 years of industrial experience to tackle our industry’s toughest challenges with inventive solutions. Contact us today.

At PTL Fabricators we believe in metal as one of the most durable materials for all types of buildings including these famous steel structures

• The Empire State Building
  • Made in 1931, this is probably the most iconic building when thinking about impressive metal structures.
  • This 103-story skyscraper stands 1,454 feet tall and was the world’s tallest structure for nearly 40 years.
  • Its massive steel frame weighs 57,000 tons.

• The Eiffel Tower
  • This impressive structure is the world’s most recognized landmark.
  • It was built in 1889 for the World’s Fair and stands 1,050 feet tall.

• The Gateway Arch
  • Called “Gateway to the West,” this structure has stood in St. Louis, Missouri for over 50 years.
  • Measuring 630 feet as its peak and constructed of stainless steel, this monument stands as the world’s tallest arch.

• The Sears Tower, also known as the Willis Tower
  • Located in Chicago, Illinois, it was constructed in 1970.
  • Because of the harsh winds in Chicago, the building’s strength was a design priority.
  • The frame of the tower features several smaller structures held together with massive steel beams and supports.

• U.S. Steel Tower
  • Pennsylvania’s Steel Tower is the most notable building on the Pittsburgh skyline and was formerly the tallest building in the state.
  • It represents the U.S. Steel Corporation that constructed it as well as the large amount of steel that was used to build it.
  • This structure has the largest roof on any structure of its height.

• Burj Khalifa
  • At 2,719.8 feet, this structure stands as the tallest man-made structure in the world.
  • It contains 163 floors with an observation deck on the 124th floor. Each elevator has to travel 1,600 feet from the bottom to the top of the building.

As you can see, the most outstanding buildings are made using steel. So, whether you’re starting a new business, building a new home, barn or garage, you know that steel is capable of doing everything you want to do and more. Turn to the experts at PTL Fabricators. We utilize more than 30 years of industrial experience to tackle our industry’s toughest challenges with inventive solutions. Contact us today.