Senior Editor
- FMA
- The Fabricator
- FABTECH
- Canadian Metalworking
Our Publications
Categories
- Additive Manufacturing
- Aluminum Welding
- Arc Welding
- Assembly and Joining
- Automation and Robotics
- Bending and Forming
- Consumables
- Cutting and Weld Prep
- Electric Vehicles
- En Español
- Finishing
- Hydroforming
- Laser Cutting
- Laser Welding
- Machining
- Manufacturing Software
- Materials Handling
- Metals/Materials
- Oxyfuel Cutting
- Plasma Cutting
- Power Tools
- Punching and Other Holemaking
- Roll Forming
- Safety
- Sawing
- Shearing
- Shop Management
- Testing and Measuring
- Tube and Pipe Fabrication
- Tube and Pipe Production
- Waterjet Cutting
Industry Directory
Webcasts
Podcasts
FAB 40
Advertise
Subscribe
Account Login
Search
Tim Heston
The Fabricator
2135 Point Blvd
Elgin, IL 60123
815-381-1314
Tim Heston, The Fabricator's senior editor, has covered the metal fabrication industry since 1998, starting his career at the American Welding Society's Welding Journal. Since then he has covered the full range of metal fabrication processes, from stamping, bending, and cutting to grinding and polishing. He joined The Fabricator's staff in October 2007.
- From The Fabricator
Metal fabrication surveys show higher wages, company profits
- By Tim Heston
- Mar 18, 2024
- Shop Management
- Blog Post
Benefiting from reshoring and resurging demand, metal fabricators have enjoyed greater profits and, just as critical, employees have enjoyed higher pay. That's according to two recent industry surveys.
- From The Fabricator
The quality benefits of quick response in metal fabrication
- By Tim Heston
- Mar 16, 2024
- Shop Management
- Article
For the past decade, Caster Concepts has reaped various benefits from quick response manufacturing, or QRM. This includes quality in manufacturing heavy-duty parts and automating material handling. Today, issues are caught well before they snowball into larger problems.
- From The Fabricator
Metal fabrication’s albatross: Poor material quality
- By Tim Heston
- Feb 24, 2024
- Laser Cutting
- Blog Post
Modern automation technology in metal fabrication can accomplish some incredible feats, even in high-product-mix operations. Still, material quality remains the wild card.
- From The Fabricator
Financial survey dives deep into metal fabrication industry
- By Tim Heston
- Feb 13, 2024
- Shop Management
- Blog Post
A recent financial survey from the FMA goes deep into the books behind metal fabrication, offering an in-depth look into an industry dominated by private companies.
- From The Fabricator
Striving for predictable throughput in metal fabrication
- By Tim Heston
- Jan 20, 2024
- Laser Cutting
- Blog Post
A fabricator might have amazing cutting power—huge lasers, massive material handling towers, ability to run lights-out or all weekend, largely unattended. Then, a team of laborers vigorously shake parts out of sheet metal skeletons. What’s wrong with this picture?
- From The Fabricator
How high-powered fiber lasers bevel plate
- By Tim Heston
- Jan 12, 2024
- Laser Cutting
- Article
Cutlite Penta now offers fiber lasers up to 50 kW, and some machines have heads capable of cutting bevels. It’s all made possible by highly controlled assist-gas mixing, the cutting head design, and novel use of software.
- From The Fabricator
Assist gas mixing drives fiber laser technology forward
- By Tim Heston
- Jan 10, 2024
- Laser Cutting
- Article
What used to be cut with solely oxygen or nitrogen now uses a mix of both. Laser assist gas mixing has been a key enabling technology, and today’s ultrahigh-powered fiber lasers couldn’t cut the way they do without it.
- From The Fabricator
Infrastructure fabrication focus: Pole forming at scale
- By Tim Heston
- Jan 5, 2024
- Bending and Forming
- Article
Today, massive press brakes—singles, tandems, and tridems—form poles at an unprecedented rate. Advanced process control and automated material handling make it happen for the metal fabrication niche.
- From The Fabricator
Metal fabricators merge to form Caldera Manufacturing Group
- By Tim Heston
- Jan 4, 2024
- Shop Management
- Article
Representing the merger of four organizations, Caldera Manufacturing Group formed in late 2023. The move reflects a consolidation trend. When fabricators grow, they widen the customer base and deepen customer relationships.
- From The Fabricator
2024 metal fabrication forecast: A boring year ahead?
- By Tim Heston
- Dec 19, 2023
- Shop Management
- Article
The 21st century has seen economic turmoil from the dot-com bust, the financial crisis, and a pandemic. We finally may be due for a conventional, sectoral downturn, and some metal fabricators might not even notice.
- From The Fabricator
Nesting fundamentals for laser cutting stability
- By Tim Heston
- Dec 18, 2023
- Laser Cutting
- Article
Laser cutting has become extraordinarily productive—if the head doesn’t halt or crash, of course. Considering how productive the latest laser cutting technology is, smart nesting has become more important than ever for metal fabrication shops.
- From The Fabricator
5 metal fabrication trends for 2024
- By Tim Heston
- Dec 17, 2023
- Shop Management
- Blog Post
It’s a complicated time for metal manufacturers. The industry faces wage pressures and a skills gap, but metal fabrication technology continues to march forth faster than ever.
- From The Fabricator
How VR can attract the next gen of structural fabricators
- By Tim Heston
- Dec 7, 2023
- Shop Management
- Article
After Bill Issler sold his FabSuite MIS software in 2018, he knew all about the industry’s greatest problem, skilled labor, and aimed to use virtual reality technology to help solve it.
- From The Fabricator
Testing the world’s first 3D-printed metal bridge
- By Tim Heston
- Dec 5, 2023
- Additive Manufacturing
- Article
Applying additive manufacturing in the construction business won’t be an easy bridge to cross. But as of 2021, a bridge in Amsterdam has been printed out of metal, and today, a bedrock of much-needed engineering data is being built.
El ERP para el taller da un vuelco
- By Tim Heston
- Nov 24, 2023
- Shop Management
- Article
ERP, MES, CRM, PLM, WMS: las iniciales del software de fabricación siguen y siguen. Cada sistema tiene algunos datos excelentes. El truco consiste en acceder a todo y convertirlo en información útil. El software más reciente, algunos con interfaces basadas en inteligencia artificial, apunta a hacer precisamente eso.
- Podcasting
- Podcast:
- The Fabricator Podcast
- Published:
- 03/05/2024
- Running Time:
- 65:35
After Ludlow Manufacturing Inc. (LMI) received The Fabricator's 2024 Industry Award, Todd Ludlow, founder and president of the...
- Trending Articles
Volatility in steel prices likely to continue
A welding instructor’s career path to working with metal
Urban Steel Rockstars festival will highlight welding and steel industry
Tube laser positions fabricator for future growth
Keys to adopting welding automation successfully
- Industry Events
NASCC: The Steel Conference
- March 20 - 22, 2024
- San Antonio,
The Fabricator's Manufacturers & Suppliers Event (MSE)
- March 26, 2024
- Schaumburg, IL
Coil Processing Workshop & Tours
- April 2 - 3, 2024
- Corpus Christi, TX
GOLF4MFG South
- April 15, 2024
- Charlotte, NC
16th Annual Safety Conference
- April 30 - May 1, 2024
- Elgin,
- Upcoming Webcasts
Nitrogen Generation for Laser Cutting: Navigating System Design for YOUR Operation
- April 24, 2024
- Sponsored
- Presented By: Purity Gas