Ironwork

Wrought iron

Wrought ironwork is forged by a blacksmith using an anvil. The earliest known ironwork are beads from Jirzah in Egypt dating from 3500 BC and made from meteoric iron with the earliest use of smelted iron dates back to Mesopotamia. However, the first use of conventional smelting and purification techniques that modern society labels as true iron-working dates back to the Hittites in around 2000 BC.

Knowledge about the use of iron spread from the Middle East to Greece and the Aegean region by 1000BC and had reached western and central Europe by 600BC. However, its use was primarily utilitarian for weapons and tools before the Middle Ages. Due to rusting, very little remains of early ironwork.

From the medieval period, use of ironwork for decorative purposes became more common. Iron was used to protect doors and windows of valuable places from attack from raiders and was also used for decoration as can be seen at Canterbury Cathedral, Winchester Cathedral and Notre Dame de Paris. Armour also was decorated, often simply but occasionally elaborately.

From the 16th century onwards, ironwork became highly ornate especially in the Baroque and Rococo periods. In Spain, elaborate screens of iron or rejería were built in all of the Spanish cathedrals rising up to nine metres high.

In France, highly decorative iron balconies, stair railings and gateways were highly fashionable from 1650. Jean Tijou brought the style to England and examples of his work can be seen at Hampton Court and St Paul's Cathedral. Wrought ironwork was widely used in the UK during the 18th in gates and railings in London and towns such as Oxford and Cambridge. In the US, ironwork features more prominently in New Orleans than elsewhere due to its French influence.

As iron became more common, it became widely used for cooking utensils, stoves, grates, locks, hardware and other household uses. From the beginning of the 19th century, wrought iron was being replaced by cast iron due to the latter's lower cost. However, the English Arts and Crafts movement produced some excellent work in the middle of the 19th century.

In modern times, much modern wrought work is done using the air hammer and the acetylene torch. A number of modern sculptors have worked in iron including Pablo Picasso, Julio González and David Smith.

Cast iron

Cast iron is produced in a furnace stoked with alternate layers of coking iron then poured into molds. After the iron cools off, the sand is cleaned off. The Chinese were the first to use cast iron[1] from the 6th century AD using it as support for pagodas and other buildings.

It was introduced into Europe by the 14th century[1] with its main decorative uses being as firebacks and plates for woodburning stoves in Germany, the Netherlands and Scandinavia. By the end of the 18th century, cast iron was increasingly used for railings, balconies, banisters and garden furniture due to its lower cost.

 

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Following copied from American Iron Works company website:

Specialty Metal Products

Comprising a wide array of manufactured metal products including staircases, canopies, catwalks, railings, walkways, fire escapes, guardrails and others that are generally attached to the structural steel, SMP is a diverse segment with extensive applications on building projects of all types. SMP represents AIW's widest-selling product segment and has been a component of virtually every project that AIW has completed.

Certain offerings in the SMP portfolio are relatively standardized; however, extensive experience in this segment has allowed AIW to develop specialized knowledge, providing a distinct advantage for your project. Building codes such as the IBC and BOCA have legislated much of the shape, width and characteristics of staircases, walkways and other components intended to accommodate the passage of building occupants. In addition, because SMP components are primarily functional in nature, there are similar design elements on the majority of projects. Having successfully, and repeatedly, executed these components over a period of decades, AIW has developed considerable institutional know-how, specialized design "fine-tuning" and best practices. Due to this inherent predictability of design and AIW's deep experience in executing SMP components, AIW has developed an innovative, standardized system.

Ornamental Metals

Ornamental metals consist of exposed, finished metalwork intended for decorative and "monumental" purposes, such as large canopies, ornaments, embellishments, cladding and other similar items. Ornamental projects cover a range of specialty materials such as stainless steel, bronze, brass, aluminum, copper, etc. AIW is unique among competitors in offering Ornamental metalwork in concert with structural steel, which is indicative of the flexibility and versatility of AIW's manufacturing platform. No other provider Ornamental metals has the capability to execute the structural components of a project. AIW has decades of experience with Ornamental metal; over the past three years, nearly 77% of our projects have included Ornamental metals.

All of AIW's ornamental work is paired with a SMP component, and ornamental features in a project are often fitted to the existing and newly manufactured SMP metal or the concrete structure. Because ornamental metals are based on custom design, creativity and skill in manufacturing are critical to the process.

Ornamental metals require specialized experience to design and manufacture. The materials and conceptual layout of the decorative portion of a project are often specified relatively broadly and proper execution depends almost entirely on the skill and creativity of the manufacturer. Often, a project's relative degree of difficulty is primarily a result of the complex decorative and ornamental design. AIW leverages its expertise in engineering and manufacturing to devise creative solutions to the broad design concepts in the project drawings. AIW's established reputation for "getting things done" is due in large part to its successful track record in developing creative implementation for conceptually-based ornamental project specifications.

Structural Steel

Structural steel is the primary support for the overall structure. From structural project drawings, AIW's design team creates detailed shop drawings of the individual components and integrates the finished component design into the 3D BIM project model. The component drawings are revised further per the 3D BIM analysis and manufactured by AIW personnel at its manufacturing facilities. AIW's ability to provide the full suite of metals products and manage the design and execution of all the connection points continues to provide a significant and compelling value-added benefit for the project owners and general contractors.

Manufacturing structural steel components requires a high degree of accuracy in design and execution. Each part is custom manufactured to precise specifications. As building architecture becomes more complicated, the structural steel framework takes on a greater amount of characteristics unique to the project.