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More from Eric Lundin
How has the pandemic affected the bicycle supply chain, tube industry?
- By Eric Lundin
- Jul 21, 2020
- Tube and Pipe Fabrication
- Blog Post
The COVID-19 pandemic has created several shortages, including bicycles. Some of the shortages were based on needs and others on panic buying; some have abated and some are likely to be with us for months.
- From The Fabricator
Metal artist sculpts without welds or fasteners
- By Eric Lundin
- Jul 19, 2020
- Shop Management
- Article
Metal sculptor Gail Chavenelle, owner of Chavenelle Studio Metalworks in Dubuque, Iowa, once worked with sheets of paper to create sculptures but transitioned to metal flashing and finally to sheet metal. The medium changed, but the strategy didn’t. She still relies on folds and bends, using no fastening techniques.
The unsung hero of fluid and bulk solids delivery
- By Eric Lundin
- Jul 7, 2020
- Tube and Pipe Fabrication
- Article
Getting a liquid or a bulk solid from a transportation vessel to a storage tank is an easy task (gravity does most of the work), but the system used for unloading such cargo is a complex apparatus and requires a loading arm. That's the forte of OEM and fabricator Excel Loading Systems.
Exoskeleton enables lifting with less effort for manufacturing workers
- By Eric Lundin
- Jun 9, 2020
- Shop Management
- Article
Exoskeletons that add strength, endurance, and capabilities for workers are nothing new, but effective exoskeletons are. One such model, the Airframe from Levitate Technologies Inc., is a lightweight model that relies on springs, cables, and pulleys, so it needs no battery or external power source of any sort.
Making the most of a "retro" career in manufacturing, fabricating
- By Eric Lundin
- May 22, 2020
- Shop Management
- Blog Post
Longevity with a single employer wasn’t the only ingredient in many manufacturing careers from decades ago. In an earlier era, membership in industry associations and volunteering to work on industry-related technical councils and committees were considered necessary to have a full-fledged professional career.
Using welding codes to develop robust welding procedures
- By Eric Lundin
- May 21, 2020
- Tube and Pipe Fabrication
- Article
Welding codes, procedures, qualifications, and certifications—what are they, and how are they used? They can be confusing, at best. Worse still, some welding applications don’t need to comply with any sort of code, written procedure, or anything else. Editor Eric Lundin interviewed Paul W. Cameron, a certified welding inspector, and Walter Sperko, a professional engineer and metallurgist with decades of experience in the welding industry, for insights regarding welding codes, procedures, and so on.
Sheet metal fabricator develops full-fledged diversification strategy
- By Eric Lundin
- May 18, 2020
- Tube and Pipe Fabrication
- Article
To diversify from the commercial kitchen market, Southern Stainless of Waynesboro, Va., recently complemented its sheet metal fabrication capabilities with a tube laser machine for cutting and drilling.
Fabricating custom adaptive bicycles that change lives
- By Eric Lundin
- May 12, 2020
- Tube and Pipe Fabrication
- Article
Pedal-powered cycles come in many varieties—road bikes, trail bikes, recumbents, tandems, and so on. Another type, custom adaptive bicycles for folks with special needs, has emerged from bike manufacturers like Freedom Concepts in recent decades to bring independence and mobility to people who formerly had limitations in both of these areas.
Rewriting the rules for electrical safety
- By Eric Lundin
- Mar 31, 2020
- Tube and Pipe Fabrication
- Article
Work around live circuits? The hazards go beyond voltage and current. When 125,000 watts of power get converted into an arc flash, the result is an explosion. Learning how to identify the potential for an arc flash is the first step in preventing one.
Metal fabricator runs lean to deal with the skilled worker shortage
- By Eric Lundin
- Mar 4, 2020
- Tube and Pipe Fabrication
- Article
Converting from a conventional operation to lean manufacturing takes some capital and a substantial amount of organizing and planning to work out the logistics of lean, but it can pay off in big ways. J & D Tube Benders, Schofield, Wis., has found that lean optimizes everything essential in fabricating–floor space, capital, and labor.
Orbital welding gear fuses productivity to precision for solar power installation
- By Eric Lundin
- Feb 2, 2020
- Tube and Pipe Fabrication
- Article
When Lauren Engineers & Constructors, Abilene, Texas, needed welding equipment and a procedure for joining tubular assemblies for a challenging solar power project, it found that an alignment tool made by Centrator and a welding package supplied by Liburdi Dimetrics met all of its needs.
Manufacturers planning for 2020 and beyond
- By Eric Lundin
- Jan 27, 2020
- Tube and Pipe Fabrication
- Blog Post
If you’re a metal fabricator, you shouldn’t pay too much attention to the big-picture economic forecasts. Fabrication makes up just 2% of the U.S. gross domestic product, so you could say that 98% of an overall forecast doesn’t apply to this industry. By the looks of the recent FABTECH expo, it’s likely that we’re in for a robust 2020.
Tube® expo to highlight some of the many changes in store over next few years
- By Eric Lundin
- Jan 16, 2020
- Shop Management
- Article
The biennial Tube® expo in Düsseldorf is always a reflection of the state of the industry, an up-to-date display of tube- and pipe-related production and fabrication technologies as they are used throughout the world. At the forthcoming expo, March 30 – April 3, visitors are likely to see a richer use than ever before of Industry 4.0 technologies, robotics, and the advanced materials that lead to ever-more-rigorous tube and pipe products.
Tube cutting technologies keep up with market dynamics
- By Eric Lundin
- Jan 15, 2020
- Tube and Pipe Fabrication
- Article
The relentless march of technology continues to introduce harder-to-cut materials to the tube and pipe market, quality demands continue to increase, and competitive pressures never let up. A roundup of perspectives reveals how a variety of equipment manufacturers have been advancing cutting technologies.
Will 2020 be tumultuous or tame for manufacturers?
- By Eric Lundin
- Dec 6, 2019
- Shop Management
- Blog Post
For many manufacturers, 2019 was defined by tumultuous international business: The U.S. trade war with China, the U.K.’s proposed exit from the European Union, U.S. diplomatic tensions with Iran, etc. How will this playout for the manufacturing industry in 2020?
- Podcasting
- Podcast:
- The Fabricator Podcast
- Published:
- 03/26/2024
- Running Time:
- 67:51
This week on The Fabricator Podcast, Jason Becker, host of the Arc Junkies Podcast and owner of Underground...
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Nitrogen Generation for Laser Cutting: Navigating System Design for YOUR Operation
- April 24, 2024
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