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Gradient’s Fabrication Operations(formerly Tauern Metalwerks) Gradient Technology’s in-house fabrication operation is fully equipped to provide high quality chemical process equipment in a wide variety of exotic materials. We pride ourselves on the close integration between our engineering and fabrication staffs to minimize errors and to provide immediate problem resolution should any fabrication issue arise. Gradient’s Tauern Metalwerks specializes in the design and fabrication of advanced chemical processing equipment for both governmental and commercial interests. Tauern (pronounced “tower-en”) was acquired by Gradient Technology in 2001 to serve as its in-house precision metal fabricator. Tauern (originally named after the Metals of Construction Gradient is a fully qualified stainless steel fabrication shop. We fabricate most of our chemical processing equipment from austenitic stainless steels in order to minimize corrosion and to provide an easy to clean surface. We have the full capability and experience to fabricate chemical processing equipment from other exotic and reactive metals as well. Please contact our engineering department if you have questions as to which alloy is best for your application. Fabrication Capabilities Gradient custom fabrication operations range in size from small lab scale to large industrial pilot equipment and plants. Our metal fabrication operations has the equipment and capability to cut, shear, bend, roll, and fabricate large sheets of exotic metals up to 0.5-inch (12mm) thick. We also have computer numerical controlled (CNC), high pressure (60,000 psi / 380MPa), 75kW waterjets to accurately cut complex components, up to eight inches (200mm) thick, from plates up to 5-foot by 10-foot (1.5m by 3m) in size. Abrasive waterjets easily cuts stainless steels and exotic metals without causing a damaging heat-affected zone (HAZ) that has to be removed prior to further fabrication operations. Consequently, most parts can be assembled without secondary processing for lower cost and higher precision. Our large fabrication and assembly area allows custom fabrication of vessels up to 4,000 cubic foot (110 cubic meters) capacity. For larger and/or complex process operations we modularize the unit operations or components to allow for ease of transportation, erection, and assembly. Many of our modular systems are custom designed to fit within the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Series 668 freight container envelope specifications to simplify domestic or international transportation and allow for rapid field assembly. Precision Welding Our welders are highly experienced in gas-tungsten arc welding (GTAW, formerly known as TIG or Heli-Arc, trademarks of Northrup and Linde Air Products respectively) since we primarily fabricate chemical processing equipment from austenitic stainless steel and reactive alloys. All welding performed by Gradient Technology is performed in accordance with American Welding Society (AWS) and ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) welding requirements. Finishing Gradient’s fabricators can provide a wide range of surface finishes on the components fabricated and incorporated into your process equipment. We can provide a number of standard surface finishes and weld finishes, from industrial to pharmaceutical, to meet your specific requirements. ANSI/NSF or the 3-A Dairy standards are generally required for food and dairy operations while pharmaceutical manufacturing requires the stricter ASME Bioprocessing Equipment (BPE) and FDA requirements. Please contact our engineering department for surface finish recommendations in your specific application. Quality Assurance Our Quality Assurance program tracks fabrication materials, components, and fasteners from design specifications, through purchase from qualified vendors, and ultimately through fabrication to ensure that the correct materials are used and suspect/counterfeit items (S/CIs) are not incorporated into any of our work. All welds performed at Gradient Technology are visually inspected by our trained inspectors after welding. Critical welds receive additional nondestructive testing (NDT) dye penetrant inspection in accordance with ASTM E1417-99 Standard Practice for Liquid Penetrant Examination as part of our normal testing procedures. Critical weld areas can be further tested using magnetic particle inspection per ASTM E709-01 Standard Guide for Magnetic Particle Examination. Highly critical welds can be additionally tested in accordance with ASTM E94-04 Standard Guide for Radiographic Examination. All of our welding procedures, welder qualifications, and weld inspector qualifications welds are maintained by Gradient Technology. In addition, we will provide, if required, the results of all weld inspections in a weld inspection report prior to final inspection. *Hastelloy™ and Inconel® are trademarks of Haynes International and Special Metals respectively. Typical Fabrication Materials     Gradient Technology11080 Industrial Circle Dr.
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