Articles from Tim Heston, Senior Editor


Tim Heston Tim Heston
Senior Editor,
The FABRICATOR®

Tim Heston has covered metal fabrication and welding since 1998. Over the years he's enjoyed meeting and covering managers and shop owners who have found a better way to fabricate.





Arc Welding
      Educating beyond the arc: Grant program funds a new kind of welding education     By: Tim Heston, Senior Editor
      Innovative workholding streamlines welding at Vermeer: Lean thinking helps weed out inefficiencies in the weld cell     By: Tim Heston, Senior Editor
      Robotic GTAW or GMAW: No longer a clear-cut choice: Gas tungsten arc welding has become easier to      
      Virtually welding: Training in a virtual environment gives welding students a leg up     By: Tim Heston, Senior Editor
      Welding for all seasons: American Heli-Arc welds for general industry, racing, and even art     By: Tim Heston, Senior Editor


Bending
      Bending with kid gloves: Urethane press brake tooling leaves no scratch behind     By: Tim Heston, Senior Editor
      Doblado de metal de alta resistencia a la tensión: Un taller necesita invertir en herramental, tonelaje y planeación     By: Tim Heston
      Getting close, bending safe: Optoelectronic guarding allows brake operators to bend safely close to the punch     By: Tim Heston, Senior Editor
      Reasons for a press brake upgrade: Adopting new technology takes a change in shop mindset     By: Tim Heston, Senior Editor
      Rolling it just so: BEPeterson takes precision roll bending to another level     By: Tim Heston
      Specials simplify the complex, speed productivity: Special press brake tools, in the right situation, can reduce the time it takes to form a part.     By: Tim Heston, Senior Editor
      Thinking outside the press brake: Folding and panel bending adapt to myriad setups, volumes      
      Tooling up to bend hard     By: Tim Heston
      Unique brake setup streamlines thick plate bending: Custom tooling—designed for one job only—eliminates secondary ops      


CAD/CAM Software
      Heavy hauling, heavy fabricating: Trailer fabricator defies conventional thinking     By: Tim Heston


Fab Stories
      (Un) memorable fabrication: Oceaneering fabricates subtle creations in high-profile structural projects     By: Tim Heston, Senior Editor
      Building success with the staggered truss: Structural fabricators take on a growing architectural market     By: Tim Heston, Senior Editor
      Cycling through a business transition: Lori and Traci Tapani break out of the mold in fabrication management     By: Tim Heston, Senior Editor
      Fabricating with a digital foundation: Architectural metal fabricator embraces the 3-D model approach      
      Forming metal that 'remembers': Memry Corp. forms shape-memory alloys for the medical business     By: Tim Heston, Senior Editor
      Getting it there yesterday: Greenheck Fan cuts lead-time to, in some cases, mere hours     By: Tim Heston, Senior Editor
      Growing season: Fabricating for agriculture: FSI Fabrication helps drive efficiency at dairies and ranches     By: Tim Heston, Senior Editor
      Japanese metal fabrication: Manufacturing on a bedrock of data: Japanese metal fabricators automate and collaborate to compete and thrive     By: Tim Heston, Senior Editor
      Putting out fires, the lean way: Fire truck-maker Crimson Fire grows its backlog despite the downturn     By: Tim Heston
      Raising the bar, one sink at a time: Commercial food service appliance manufacturer shrinks lead-times from weeks to days      
      Rocket Science, Entrepreneur-Style: SpaceX takes a fresh approach to rocket fabrication     By: Tim Heston, Senior Editor
      Streamlined scheduling suits fabricator: Estes Design and Manufacturing implements software for efficient scheduling, work flow     By: Tim Heston, Senior Editor
      Ultrafabrication, ultraexpansion: Ultra Machine & Fabrication grows at lightning speed bending, welding armor plate     By: Tim Heston, Senior Editor
      Work flow goes virtual     By: Tim Heston, Senior Editor


Finishing
      Avoiding a snag: Automated deburring ensures nylon-stocking-friendly finish     By: Tim Heston, Senior Editor


Folding
      KO’ing keystrokes: Transformer manufacturer automates folding machine programming     By: Tim Heston


For CEOs
      Accounting for growth in lean manufacturing: Job shop complements continuous improvement with lean accounting     By: Tim Heston, Senior Editor
      FABTECH & AWS Welding Show report: Ready for new ideas: Show attendees find new strategies, technologies to expand their business     By: Tim Heston, Senior Editor, and Editorial Staff


Industry Trends and Analysis
      Lost in translation: Manufacturers push for standardization in the metrology arena     By: Tim Heston, Senior Editor


Laser Cutting
      Lasers catch limelight at ALAW: Conference’s fabricator track puts the big picture center stage     By: Tim Heston, Senior Editor
      Saying ‘yes’ when others can’t: Job shop uses flexibility, not capacity, to gauge automation’s success     By: Tim Heston
      Shop perfects laser cutting brass, titanium     By: Tim Heston, Senior Editor


Materials Handling
      Curbing waste at Power Curbers : Lean equipment-maker streamlines part flow     By: Tim Heston


Press Technology
      Forming AHSS: Playing by new rules: Advanced high-strength steels spur unconventional thinking about formability     By: Tim Heston, Senior Editor
      The science behind the servo press: Servomotor-driven mechanical press spurs a new way of thinking about forming metal     By: Tim Heston, Senior Editor


Punching
      Better tool management, better punching: McQuay streamlines its turret press operation with efficient tool use, regrinding      
      Keeping the (fire) door open: Punching efficiency, market diversity sustain ABCO Steel Door through the downturn     By: Tim Heston


Shop Strategies
      Diversity a blessing for Blessing: Diverse customer base—from heavy equipment to medical—key to Blessing Industries’ success     By: Tim Heston, Senior Editor
      Getting lean, job shop style: Ace Metal Crafts’ brand of lean puts employees in the driver’s seat     By: Tim Heston, Senior Editor


Tool and Die
      Measurement, assembly, and welding: Ultra Tool’s quest for in-die perfection: Part III: Reducing labor with in-die welding     By: Tim Heston
      Measurement, assembly, and welding: Ultra Tool’s quest for in-die perfection: Part II: Eliminating secondaries with in-die assembly     By: Tim Heston


Tube and Pipe Fabrication
      Automotive and industrial: A tale of two businesses: Microflex grows in automotive through automation, diversification     By: Tim Heston, Senior Editor
      Cool (pipe) runnings: Pipe fabricator changes approach to bobsled run fabrication     By: Tim Heston, Senior Editor
      Gold medal fabrication for Olympic ski jump: Company speeds fabrication of iconic Winter Games structure     By: Tim Heston, Senior Editor
      To think ‘in tube’: Tube shop’s success hinges on design for manufacturability     By: Tim Heston


Waterjet Cutting
      Counting on the combo: Revolving door-maker adds flexibility with waterjet/plasma combination machine     By: Tim Heston, Senior Editor
      El chorro de agua la hace en grande: Siendo alguna vez una novedad, el corte por chorro de agua abrasivo     By: Tim Heston
      Waterjet makes it into the mainstream: Once a novelty, abrasive waterjet cutting has evolved to become standard equipment for the fab shop     By: Tim Heston, Senior Editor


Welding Inspection
How to relieve stress in welding: Back to basics on stress relief and reducing distortion      

 

 
Contact us at: FMA Communications, Inc.  dot  833 Featherstone Rd. dot  Rockford, IL 61107 dot  815-399-8700 dot  E-mail: info@thefabricator.com
Fabricators and Manufacturers Association, International © 2009 FMA Communications, Inc.  All rights reserved. Privacy Policy Legal Stuff Site Map Tube and Pipe Association, International