Coronavirus (COVID-19) Statement

03/20/202012/17/2021RMF

March 20, 2020

As the world faces a truly unprecedented situation, Riggs Machine & Fabricating is taking proactive steps to ensure the health and safety of our valued employees, customers and community. We continue to closely monitor the latest reports and recommendations from the Centers of Disease Control (CDC) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The health and safety of our employees and customers are our top priority. Riggs Machine & Fabricating has implemented practices to assist in protecting our employees and community.

Employees have been updated on preventative practices and preparedness plans recommended by the CDC. We have requested employees follow these guidelines for proper personal safety.
We are following the government’s direction to practice social distancing.
Employees are asked to stay home if they feel ill.
Hand sanitizer and disinfectants are being provided throughout our work areas.
Comprehensive cleaning and sanitizing protocols are in place for our facilities, including high traffic areas being frequently disinfected and cleaned.
Customer and supplier visits on-site to Riggs Machine & Fabricating are limited. Drivers picking up material or making delivers have limited access into our facilities and exposure to our employees.

We remain committed and confident that during these tough times, we can continue to deliver the quality, dependable service to our customers across our community in a timely, efficient, and safe manner.

Thank you for your partnership and should you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at 606-324-0090.

Sincerely,

Bert Riggs, President

Riggs Machine & Fabricating – Serving industry in KY, OH and WV for over 45 years!

Mobile Safety Barrier

01/31/2020RMF

“When a Simple (traffic) Cone Won’t Do”

Movable Safety Barrier - 3D Render

There are several solutions to protecting workers and areas vulnerable to hazards like pedestrian and industrial traffic.

Some companies throw out a few cones, maybe even adding a flag or two for visibility. Then there’s the flimsy plastic folding barriers you might have seen around an out-of-service restroom at the mall.

But these solutions are not suitable for industrial environments. They don’t offer any real protection. They’re just one step up from wishful thinking.

Riggs Machine would like to suggest a better solution: the Mobile Safety Barrier.

This item protects the area around workers while in underground accesses such as manholes and maintenance openings or above ground on ladders.

Movable Safety Barrier - Man in Barrier

Highly Visible – can be see by those walking around the area and in vehicles and forklifts.

Movable Safety Barrier - Side View

Due to its sturdy design, it will not fold or buckle in high winds or bad weather. Can be bumped and still remain in position. It’s solid metal frame can withstand the harsh plant environment. Unlike plastic units, it can be painted any color or modified if necessary.

Movable Safety Barrier - Caster

The Mobile Safety Barrier positions easily on heavy duty casters and can be loaded on a flatbed for quick offsite setup.

This convenient, sturdy, mobile, highly visible unit increases safety in your facility.

Riggs Machine & Fabricating – Serving industry in KY, OH and WV for over 45 years!

Preparing for the Outage

09/10/2019RMF

Preparing for an outage can be almost as stressful as the actual event. Gathering drawings, getting materials ready, prepping vendors, suppliers and employees. Trying your best not to overlook any details.

construction workers — Photo by Jess Lis from Freeimages

blueprints — Photo by Fira Anuar from Freeimages

But often it’s not the big ticket items that slow or even stop production, it could be something as simple as missing shims to get a new pump to the correct height, a missing blind to close off a pipe section before adding a new unit, keys for new shafts or custom bolts you swore you ordered and now will take a week to machine.

bleeder blind pump shim

I’ve seen all of these, and more. The excuses are varied, who was responsible for ordering the items, I thought they were included with the quote, the existing ones should have worked with the new unit, and even – I just forgot!

frustrated man — Photo by Marabu from ABSFreePIC.com

So how best to avoid these situations?

– Get current manufacturer drawings for new equipment. Trying to fit a new pump on an old base never works out. Plan for modifications and additions. Make sure everyone has the same version prints. Don’t rely on old drawings someone pulled from the file or had stored on their computer. Verify you are on the same version. If you have to, create a new master set and pass them out to everyone involved.

parts and prints

– Next, and sometimes more importantly, is having a local machine shop who can respond timely, ready for such emergencies. This might require several shops of varied disciplines; one for burn outs, one for custom bolts or nuts, one for blinds and piping…

weld shop

lathes in machine shop

– You might want to get the shops involved early in the process, rather than late one evening when you realize something has gone wrong. They may make recommendations as to what items you may have overlooked. They may need to stock up on certain materials so you don’t have to wait to have them shipped in (and overnighted at an additional expense).

They may also have to juggle their schedule around to make sure they have the manpower available during the outage. Are they normally closed on weekends? Will they have a method to call someone in for a quick job? Are they in the middle of other shutdowns or production runs?

worker drilling

production parts being inspected — Photo by Michael Adkins photography

Some common last minute items:

Blinds (slip/paddle, bleeder and orifice)
Keys for shafting
Shims
Tube Plugs
Custom Bolts and Nuts (or just odd sized)
Non-stock metals (stainless piping or angle, brass bushings)

Benjamin Franklin

By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. – Benjamin Franklin

Riggs Machine & Fabricating – Serving industry in KY, OH and WV for over 45 years!

Handwheel Extensions & Ease of Operation

06/14/2019RMF

When a valve handle is not readily accessible, or the distance for proper operation is too great, a Handwheel Extension might be the solution.

Once affixed to the existing valve, workers have quick, ready and safe access to the controls when need arises.

Shown above, an inaccessible gate valve is below a platform. With a bolt-on Handwheel Extension, a worker on top of the platform now has convenient, safe access within reach and can operate the valve freely (without the need of ladders or rigging).

Also, by increasing the diameter of the handle on the Handwheel Extension, the valve may be easier to operate than it may have been with its original smaller handle.

These Handwheel Extensions are custom designed based on the valve size and distance from the valve to the operator’s control location.

Handwheel Extensions are often galvanized to help withstand the weather, elements and possible corrosion from chemicals in the facility.

If you have inaccessible valves that require outside rigging to operate or controls that put your employees in dangerous situations, call Riggs for an overview of the benefits that Handwheel Extensions can offer.

Riggs Machine & Fabricating – Serving industry in KY, OH and WV for over 45 years!

Precision Shafts to Get You Running Again!

05/30/201912/17/2021RMF

They say “wheels make the world go round”, but without shafts, nothing would ever move.

A shaft connects a mechanical power source to gears, wheels, turbines, rotors and much more. Shafts can be as simple a basic round bar or as complex as containing exacting bearing fits, keyways, sleeves, grease fittings, snap ring grooves and splines.

Often, the shafts we see have been in service for many years, sometimes running non-stop. Unfortunately when these older shafts break (as shown here), there aren’t drawings available and not a lot of time to get the new shaft machined and the unit running again.

This shaft broke and we got it in 2 sections, still in the housing. After disassembly, we made hand sketches. While the housing was cleaned and checked, we created 3D drawings and then machined a new shaft.

Here is the new shaft ready for inspection. After passing final inspection, the housing was reassembled and the unit was ready for production use.

Finished Shaft – Ready for Unit Assembly

Hopefully a broken shaft won’t take one of your machines, or worse, your facility down. But if it does, Riggs Machine has the experience to get you running again.

Riggs Machine & Fabricating – Serving industry in KY, OH and WV for over 45 years!

Shims – more than just a strip of metal

04/12/201904/17/2019RMF

SHIM – A washer or thin strip of metal used to align parts, make them fit or reduce wear.

These, sometimes extremely slender, strips of metal are very crucial in industrial operations. From getting a pump to line up perfectly or to make a surface level, a shim must be exact.

Shims come in a variety of materials, but most commonly from metals such as carbon steel, brass and stainless steel. And they also vary greatly in their thickness from up to 1/4” thick and down to .001 thick (imagine an industrial foil).

.003 thick shims – for precise applications

And the tolerances they must hold are key to their functionality. They cannot deviate across the surface, their dimensions must be held.

Often industrial shims come in sets of varying thicknesses. They can be added individually to get the final adjustments perfect.

They also come in many different shapes, often having to be custom designed to fit around existing bolt holes and other features. We like to add the small hand holds (show below) to make installation and adjustment easier.

At Riggs Machine and Fabricating we understand Industrial Shims and their importance in setup, maintenance and repairs. We understand the tolerances and design elements that separate a shim from a strip of metal. Yes, there is a difference. If the shop you are working with now doesn’t agree with that, then you are working with the wrong place. Time to call Riggs Machine.

Riggs Machine & Fabricating – Serving industry in KY, OH and WV for over 45 years!

A Fabrication Story – The Bearing Pedestal

03/20/201904/17/2019RMF

There’s a reason for the fabricating in Riggs Machine & Fabricating. Here’s a perfect example. A client has an older machinery pedestal in very poor condition and needs a new assembly. There are, of course, no design drawings for the item, but luckily we can bring it to our shop.

First we make hand sketches of the unit. We review the original design to see if there were any structural defects that should be improved or any new features that the client would like to have implemented in the current design.

Next, these sketches are converted to CAD drawings and then 3D models are created for fit-up and testing. It’s much faster (and cheaper) to test a new design in 3D than it is after cutting 1/2” thick plates. When we are satisfied with the design, the files are sent out to have plates cut.

This is what we get back from the waterjet cutters (Swift Manufacturing), nice pallet of loose parts. Now fabrication begins. If the designers did their work properly, the welders job should go smoothly.

And here we have the final assembly. From hand sketches to CAD to 3D models to cut parts to fabrication in less time than it takes some companies to return your call.

Riggs Machine & Fabricating – Serving industry in KY, OH and WV for over 45 years!

Rail Welding Shears

02/01/201904/17/2019RMF

Used when creating a Butt Weld between two sections of train rail, this shear takes a lot of abuse. At the same time, it must follow very tight tolerances to maintain the profile of the rail (especially when a high speed train is running across it).

A butt weld is created in the field using a mobile electric flash-butt welder. The two sections are joined and electricity is applied to the rail ends. The flash-butt welder squeezes the sections together at very high pressure, permanently joining them, but this also creates a seam at the joint with a segment of slag.

Rail w/Hot Slag after Butt Weld
(notice the manual shear in the background)
“Thermite Rail Welding” by PetrS. 2013 licensed under CC

The RAIL WELDING SHEAR is clamped onto the rail and slid along the rail, by the mobile welder, cutting off the hot slag leaving only a small remainder that will be later ground smooth.

These shears are precision cut out of Nitronic 60 – a high strength metal known for it’s wear resistance – with a wire EDM machine. The EDM unit cuts parts slower, but with more precision than a waterjet or laser cutter.

The final grooves are added via a CNC and the units are then inspected. A hard-surface weld is added and machined to create a precision cutting edge. The parts are assembled to complete the rail welding shear.

These are ready for the rail and making the travels of passengers and goods go smoother and safer.

This video shows a portable flash-butt welder in use. Notice the Rail Shear clamped on the rail before the unit is lowered on the section.

Riggs Machine & Fabricating – Serving industry in KY, OH and WV for over 45 years!

Welcome Gregg Nichols to the Riggs Team!

01/24/2019RMF

We’d like to welcome Gregg Nichols to our staff. Gregg has a combined 28 years in Industrial Distribution & Manufacturing Operations and Sales.

His prior experience includes 5 years with Perfection Rubber (operations manager and sales), 18 years with MSC / Dolin Supply (team leader and outside sales) and 4 years with American producers (outside and industrial sales)

The business segments he previously focused on included:

Coal
Construction
Chemical
Manufacturing
Petroleum
Power Generation
Steel Production

Gregg’s areas of expertise include:

Hydraulic Hoses, Tubes and Fittings
Metal working – Machining – Hole Making
Material Handling (lifting and rigging)
Pipes, Valves & Fittings
Safety

Gregg has jumped right in and got off to a strong start. His outgoing personality and years of knowledge have been a perfect fit here at Riggs. Call him for a visit to your facility and see why he’s an invaluable asset to our team!

Is Riggs Machine the Solution for Your Business?

12/05/201804/17/2019RMF

Being located in Ashland KY gives us access to many types of major industries including oil and petroleum, chemical, coal, power production, rail, auto manufacturing, mining equipment, steel and other metal production.

We also cater to a variety of small businesses with their own unique areas of specialties such as large machinery repair (i.e. dozer and tractor), environmental services, and public and municipal agencies.

So what type of services do we provide to our clients? We are a full service machining and fabricating facility. We can perform everything from basic repairs to fabrication of new structures. From turning mill rolls to custom shaft machining, from designing and building platforms to providing phonographic finished spectacle blinds. We even rebuild gearboxes and crane wheel drive units.

Riggs Machine is also considered a hot job shop, meaning we are available 24-7 if the need arises. Many of our clients run non-stop and can’t let a part failure stop production, the flow of material to their customers, or possibly the power to your home!

We’ve even designed a few specialty items like our tank top drop-in manway guards. These have proven to be very popular in petroleum refineries.

We’ve also worked with several companies on large projects to help refine and bring to life new equipment that has helped them gain an advantage in their respective fields.

Whether you need a custom shaft for your facility, a new walkway to keep your employees safe, or a miner that will move mountains, Riggs Machine & Fabricating has the experience and knowledge to exceed your expectations.

Riggs Machine & Fabricating – Serving industry in KY, OH and WV for over 45 years!