$10,000 Tool Saved: Precision Aluminum Vacuum Frame Repair at McCarty Fabrication
At McCarty Fabrication, we specialize in solving the problems most shops won’t touch.
Recently, a local manufacturing company brought us a damaged aluminum vacuum-forming frame — a critical production tool sourced from Italy with a replacement cost of over $10,000 plus international tariffs and long lead times.
When this frame cracked through a corner, it shut down their ability to form product. They attempted a repair using a spool-gun welder, but the contamination and distortion only made the problem worse. That’s when they contacted us.
Diagnosing the Damage
The frame arrived with:
A full-depth crack running through a formed corner
Distortion from previous improper heat input
Heavy aluminum contamination from a spool-gun repair
No flatness specification, but gasket sealing was essential
Cracks in aluminum are never simple, especially in thin formed sections with previous weld attempts. The material becomes brittle, oxidized, and highly sensitive to heat.
This repair required controlled heat, precise TIG welding, and an understanding of how aluminum moves under stress.
Step 1: Controlled Heat Expansion
Instead of “cold welding” directly onto a stressed part — which would cause the crack to propagate — we used a controlled oxy-fuel heat treatment to gently expand the material and relieve the locked-in stresses around the failure.
This step alone prevents future cracking and ensures the weld can bond properly.
Step 2: Removing Old Contaminated Weld and Preparing Fresh Base Metal
All previous repair attempts were ground out, revealing trapped porosity and oxidized pockets.
Clean aluminum = clean welds, so we:
V-grooved the crack
Removed oxidized material
Wire-brushed the area with stainless brushes dedicated for aluminum only
Preheated again to stabilize temperature
Proper prep is 90% of a successful aluminum repair.
Step 3: Precision TIG Welding
With the crack prepared, we TIG-welded the joint using controlled amperage, clean filler, and short stitch welds to keep heat localized. This prevents further warping and ensures a strong bond.
Even with proper technique, aluminum of this geometry will move — especially after being previously overheated — but the customer did not require a tight flatness tolerance. A gasket seals the surface, so structural integrity was the priority.
Step 4: Blending, Surfacing, and Inspection
After welding, the area was blended flush to restore the original form.
We verified:
Weld penetration
No remaining cracks
Proper sealing profile geometry
No sharp transitions or stress risers
The final result was a fully restored aluminum vacuum frame, ready to go back into production — without the $10k replacement cost or months of downtime.
Why Manufacturers Choose McCarty Fabrication for Aluminum Repair
This project highlights what sets us apart:
We can repair aluminum parts others won’t touch
We understand how heat affects geometry and cracking
We combine welding, machining, and engineering knowledge
We save customers thousands by restoring tools instead of replacing them
We’re also reverse-engineering the entire frame into a 3D CAD model so it can be manufactured domestically in the future — eliminating foreign lead times and giving the customer long-term reliability.
Need Aluminum Repair or Industrial Welding Work?
If your manufacturing equipment, tooling, or fixtures are damaged — or failing from years of stress — we can restore them.
Contact McCarty Fabrication for:
Aluminum crack repair
TIG welding
Vacuum mold and fixture restoration
Precision machining
Reverse engineering and CAD modeling
Production welding and fabrication
We help companies stay in production — and avoid unnecessary replacement costs.
Take a look at our Industries Served page and our Services and Capabilities
