Combating the Shortage of Highly Skilled CJP Welders in Structural Steel

Central Texas Iron Works | Waco, TX & San Antonio, TX

At a Glance

  • Addressed shortage of highly skilled, specialized welders

  • Achieved consistent Complete Joint Penetration (CJP) welds that pass UT-quality testing

  • Leveraged mobile cobot systems for large structural steel applications

  • Met strict AWS D1.1/D1.1M: Structural Welding Code - Steel non-destructive testing requirements

Sharp Iron Manufacturing doesn't cut corners. As an ISO-certified contract manufacturer headquartered in Wichita Falls, TX, they deliver turn-key solutions across some of the most demanding industries in the world: aerospace, defense, energy, marine, and industrial markets.

Their growth strategy is intentional. Rather than chasing outside funding, Sharp Iron scales on their own terms — steadily, without the service dilution that so often follows rapid, VC-fueled expansion.

But growing smart doesn't mean growing without friction. As their welding capabilities expanded, gaps in default weld parameters began surfacing — inconsistencies that couldn't be tolerated at their quality standard. They needed a flexible solution that could adapt across applications without slowing the shop down.

“The Vectis Rover is pulling its weight helping combat the shortage of highly skilled CJP “That weld used to take us 8 hours ... now we do it in 30-45 minutes.”

Blake Fulton (Weld Supervisor and Finishing Supervisor, Sharp Iron Group)

The Challenge

As Sharp Iron expanded, they quickly discovered critical gaps in the default welding process parameters, demanding immediate refinement before production could move forward with confidence.

Compounding the issue was the nature of the parts themselves. Many were too large and too varied to automate using traditional robotic systems — doing so would have introduced excessive cost and complexity. A purpose-built traditional robot welding system would have required months of custom engineering, facility modifications, and installation before a single production weld was made.

Sharp Iron needed something different. A solution that could handle large, low-repeatability parts, deploy quickly across multiple applications, and meet their quality standard from day one — without the overhead of a traditional system.

Vectis tools lend a hand to skilled welders

Over the past five years, CTIW has implemented two ultraportable Vectis Rover™ systems to support their most demanding applications.

These systems grant their fabrication team the mobility to go directly to large structural parts, and the robust programming capability to meet quality standards for difficult CJP welds.

Rather than replacing skilled welders or robbing them of important work, the cobots work alongside the team to maximize their capacity.

Cobot tools are deployed on the most critical and difficult welds such as CJP grooves, while manual welders handle tasks like back-gouging, where the human eye ensures consistency and smooth tie-ins.

Consistent parts in, consistent parts out

CJP welds are among the most difficult welds to execute consistently, especially at the scale required for modern LNG infrastructure.

CTIW’s success in this difficult application is due in large part to their consistent beam cutting and efficient upstream processes, which is often a deciding factor when evaluating if a particular fabrication line is ready for welding automation.

CTIW’s approach reflects a broader shift in the structural steel industry, and shows what’s possible when using automation as a tool to extend the capabilities of skilled workers, not replace them.