Rentapen Inc. makes precision weld fixtures that hold a product together while it’s being robotically or manually welded.
Because welds must be at precisely the right location so the part fits within the desired tolerances, Rentapen offers both clamps and the tools needed to adjust the height and location of the clamps.
Risers allow the clamp to be moved higher on the part, while shims are very thin metal sheets that come in varying thicknesses to adjust the weld to within thousandths of an inch, said President Susan Straley.
“Some of the (shim) metals can get real thin so we can adjust to better than .005,” Straley said. “We’ve got really really thin metal in the shims that we can do fine tune adjusting.”
Rentapen’s 14 employees design and build custom fixtures for customers’ welding and molding needs, taking into account the number and location of welds and the heat created by the process, which could move materials around.
The company, located in Waukesha, also makes block fixtures for designing weld fixtures and gauge fixtures for measuring the finished part.
Rentapen’s newest project is putting together a catalog of downloadable parts, Straley said.
Customers will be able to visit the company’s website, find a riser or plate and fit the part into 3D Computer Assisted Designs. Once the correct fit is achieved on the design, the customer can order the part from Rentapen.
“We standardized on them, but yet there’s over a billion variations of parts in our catalog,” Straley said.
