Structural Steel, Custom Metalwork, and CNC Plasma: What's the Difference and When Do You Need Each?
Demystifying the trade categories for builders, architects, and owners: what each one does, what it costs, and how to spec it without guessing.
Structural steel
Wide-flange columns and beams, HSS members, and moment-frame connections. Governed by AISC 360 and typically requiring AWS D1.1 welding. Loads are calculated to hold a building up. If it's holding gravity or lateral load, it's structural.
Ornamental iron and custom metalwork
Railings, gates, decorative screens, monumental staircases. Aesthetic and life-safety spec, not gravity spec. Different tolerances, different finish standards, different fabricator skill set.
CNC plasma
Automated flat-plate cutting to a DXF or DWG. Fast, precise, and generally the least expensive way to get complex shapes out of plate. Not appropriate for anything requiring bevels beyond the plasma's capacity — those go to laser or waterjet.
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