Is a stainless weld truly passivated, or will some unexpected rust emerge down the road? New testing technology, used in-house by fabricators, helps answer this question

According to the Labor Department, American workers aren’t as productive as they once were. But how do we measure productivity? Perhaps most important, do customers value it?

Keeping these tips in mind during safety and performance audits can help you keep the shop floor safe even when potentially dangerous fabricating activities are taking place.

Delivering a large fabrication in some ways is almost as difficult as creating the piece in the first place. In many instances, the fabrication is awkward in shape and a challenge to move even a short distance. Like everything else, fabricators figure out how to do it, and these are their stories.

Under the stewardship of founders Larry and Gloria Dlouhy, Superior Tube Products grew from a small proprietorship into a midsized fabricator. It is entering its 25th year in business with a new management style, a new strategy, and a new outlook on the future.

Orbital welding is a straightforward concept, but the many choices in joint design and equipment features can turn even a simple orbital welding project into something complex. Industry veteran V. John Jusionis discusses three common joint designs and several key equipment features to produce a successful outcome.

R.J. Cyr Co., Maidstone, Ont., had a job for which it needed to cut sections of structural steel beam, but it couldn't do the job profitably relying on a manual approach. After consulting with its plasma cutting table supplier, the company devised a way to add CNC cutting capability into the mix.

Metalworker Tom Lipton speaks about metal fabrication hand tools, something often taken for granted in the fab shop. Learn about metal working tools here.

Coal mining has long been an important industry in some areas of the U.S. As coal mining has fallen out of favor with environmental groups, the EPA, and the administration, these areas have had to adapt to remain viable and provide jobs.

Cladding, often used in manufacturing or repair, is a good way to conserve an expensive alloy. Weld cladding techniques can be manual or automated. A conventional automated technique is submerged arc strip cladding (SASC), but this isn’t the only process. Electroslag strip cladding (ESSC) is a viable alternative.

Columnist George Winton discusses a way to combine two operations into one seamless process by adding a drill to a CNC tube bender.

A new testing device uncovers the range of yield stresses in specific materials and thus helps roll forming technicians better predict how certain materials will perform.

Incredibly high temperatures and a bright arc flash aren’t the only two dangerous elements of welding. Harmful ultrafine particulate matter generated during welding operations can pose major health risks to welders. Modern extraction and filtration systems are designed to provide effective industrial safety. In many cases, fabricators find that the added filtration equipment contributes to increased productivity as well.

When Grant Mallicote’s father had a bumper-crumpling collision on the family’s ranch, Grant figured he could save his dad a few dollars by fabricating a replacement bumper. He used some tube, plate, a welding torch, and some ingenuity to make a bumper, and eventually it became a bumper business, Bodyguard Truck Accessories.