Peddinghaus FPB-1500

The Peddinghaus FPB-1500 is a CNC plate processing machine built specifically for structural steel fabricators who need to drill, punch, plasma cut, and mark flat plate in a single automated workflow. Positioned as a flat plate burning and drilling center, the FPB-1500 consolidates operations that would otherwise require separate dedicated machines — a significant advantage in shops where floor space, material handling labor, and part accuracy across multiple setups are persistent challenges.

The FPB-1500's gantry-style construction positions a multi-function machining head over a plate table that accommodates plates up to 1,500 mm wide and virtually unlimited length via shuttle or roller feed. The drilling spindle handles standard structural bolt holes, countersinks, and spot faces, while an integrated plasma cutting torch on the same gantry profiles plates to shape, cuts copes, notches, slots, and radii in the same NC program pass. Switching between drilling and cutting operations is fully automated — the NC program specifies operation type, and the gantry head transitions without operator intervention.

Peddinghaus's PeddiPro control platform drives the FPB-1500, reading DSTV files for drilling operations and DXF files for plasma cutting contours. This dual-format input capability is particularly important in structural fabrication, where connection plates and base plates are often detailed in structural software (Tekla, SDS/2) while irregularly profiled parts come from AutoCAD or Inventor as DXF files. PeddiPro's nesting engine optimizes multiple parts onto a single plate to maximize material yield, and its kerf compensation ensures that cut parts hold their dimensional tolerances regardless of plate thickness or plasma torch condition.

For busy fabrication shops, the FPB-1500's ability to complete a connection plate — drilled, countersunk, profiled, and marked — without removing it from the machine represents a fundamental workflow improvement. Parts that previously traveled through three or four workstations, accumulating handling time and registration error at each step, can now be completed in a single setup. Peddinghaus's long experience in structural steel equipment means the FPB-1500 is engineered for the duty cycles, material grades, and operating environments typical of commercial and industrial steel fabrication.

The FPB-1500 targets fabricators in the mid-to-large size range who process significant quantities of plate alongside their structural beam work. It is especially effective in shops producing custom connection hardware, moment frame plates, base plate assemblies, and stiffener sets — work that requires precision drilling combined with accurate plasma profiling, and where reducing setups and handling steps directly improves delivery performance and cost competitiveness.